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  • No. 13 Texas Tech skids into meeting with West Virginia

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    (Photo credit: Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

    Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland has not pressed the panic button ahead of the No. 13 Red Raiders’ Big 12 Conference matchup against West Virginia on Sunday in Morgantown, W.Va.

    While every game in the conference offers a stern test, McCasland is confident the Red Raiders (16-6, 6-3 Big 12) will bounce back from two straight losses. The first was an 88-80 setback at UCF on Jan. 31, and the latest a 64-61 home defeat against No. 11 Kansas on Monday.

    ‘We’ve got the right guys, we just need more experience and time together,’ McCasland said. ‘I love this group and I believe in them and I know we can win real games that are meaningful in March. We’ve got to find ways to collectively get a little more experience, get a little tougher, get a little more fight and grit to the way we compete down the stretch. We are just scratching the surface of what we can be.’

    Christian Anderson was a last-minute scratch for the loss to Kansas due to a reported illness. The sophomore guard ranks second on the Red Raiders in scoring at 19.6 points per game and leads the Big 12 in assists at 7.5 per contest. He shoots 43.6% from 3-point range and connects on 3.4 shots from beyond the arc per game.

    Texas Tech thought there still was a possibility he could get ready to play against the Jayhawks by halftime.

    ‘Before the game we didn’t have any idea it was an option (he wouldn’t play),’ McCasland said. ‘In warmups we were told he was being held out for now. But I fully anticipated him playing. As he got closer to being out there, I was told we were trying to warm him up during the intros to see if we could get him ready to play.’

    Even as the teams took the court after halftime, Texas Tech thought it could get Anderson back. Without him in the lineup, the Red Raiders surrendered a 10-point lead in the last eight minutes.

    ‘We don’t have time to think about anything other than we need to beat West Virginia on Sunday,’ McCasland said. ‘Staying in the Big 12 (race) is about being resilient, and we need to get better. Our guys are tough and care a lot about this team even though they are all hurt.’

    West Virginia (15-8, 6-4 Big 12) is coming off a 59-54 road win over Cincinnati on Thursday, but it could use a victory over Texas Tech as a resume-builder. The Mountaineers are 2-5 in Quad 1 games and 1-3 in Quad 2 games. That makes Sunday tilt in Morgantown, where they are 13-1, even more important.

    ‘We have a little momentum and need to go back home and take care of business there,’ said West Virginia’s leading scorer, Honor Huff, who puts up 15.8 points per game.

    ‘We don’t try to look ahead or hear the outside noise as to what can happen if you win this game or lose that game. We have to take care of every game that comes on our schedule.’

    Even though the Mountaineers trailed the Bearcats by as many as 14 points in the second half, they rode a familiar formula to victory: Muddy things up on defense and wait for Huff to get hot from beyond the arc. Huff scored 14 straight Mountaineers points to put his team up 42-40, and the West Virginia defense held Cincinnati to 36.4% shooting from the field and 30.4% on 3-point attempts.

    ‘For us it always starts on the defensive end of the floor,’ West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said. ‘Can you defend and can you rebound? In the last couple games, we’ve gotten some good offensive looks and are struggling a bit on that end of the floor. But I tell these guys all the time, let’s beat someone 52-48 then if that’s what it takes. It takes what it takes.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • Steelers sign 13 to Reserve/Future contracts

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    Teresa Varley

    It’s the time of year when the Steelers roster starts to take on a new look, and that was the case today when multiple players were signed to Reserve/Future contracts.

    The team signed a combination of players who were with the team in 2024 on the practice squad, as well as some new additions.

    The full list is below.

    Long snapper Cal Adomitis: The Steelers originally signed Adomitis to the practice squad on Dec. 19. Adomitis, who is from Pittsburgh and played at Central Catholic High School and the University of Pittsburgh, was last with the Philadelphia Eagles. He originally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft, playing 49 games with them.

    Defensive tackle Kyler Baugh: Baugh was originally signed by the Steelers during training camp and spent the majority of the season on the practice squad. Baugh entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the New Orleans Saints following the 2024 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the New York Giants and on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. Baugh played two seasons at the University of Minnesota, appearing in 26 games. He recorded 77 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and four sacks. He also added four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He began his college career at Houston Baptist where he appeared in 26 games, starting 18. He finished with 104 career tackles, including 10 tackles for a loss and five sacks.

    Receiver Cole Burgess: Burgess was originally signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. Burgess spent the 2024 season on the Bengals practice squad and was signed to a Reserve/Future contract after the season. Burgess played college football at Division III SUNY Cortland where he earned first-team All-ECAC and All-Empire 8 honors, as well as D3football.com All-Region honors. He started all 10 games his final season, pulling in 37 receptions for 816 yards and 11 touchdowns.

    Defensive end Anthony Goodlow: Goodlow, who was signed to the Steelers practice squad on Nov. 24, was originally signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. Goodlow spent time on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad the last two seasons, and was elevated to the Active/Inactive roster for three games in 2025. Goodlow played college football at Oklahoma State where he played in 14 games. He recorded 42 tackles, 18 of them solo stops, seven tackles for a loss and three sacks. He began his college career at Tulsa, appearing in a total of 48 games in his college career, with 22 starts.

    Defensive back Daequan Hardy: Hardy spent time on the Steelers practice squad during the 2025 season. Hardy was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, spending the season on the practice squad. Hardy played college football at Penn State where he appeared in 48 games, starting five. He had 60 tackles, 40 of them solo stops, 25 passes defensed, seven and a half tackles for a loss, five interceptions, three and a half sacks, and a forced fumble. He also returned punts and kickoffs for the Nittany Lions. He finished tied for fourth in school history with two punt returns for a touchdown, both of them taking place his senior season against the University of Massachusetts.

    Defensive back Jack Henderson: Henderson, who was signed to the Steelers practice squad on Oct. 6 but later released, originally signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their practice squad. Henderson spent two seasons at the University of Minnesota where he played in 26 games. He recorded 103 tackles, 61 of them solo stops, 14 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, five passes defensed, three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Prior to transferring to Minnesota, he spent three seasons at Southeastern Louisiana where he played in 33 games and recorded 163 tackles, 93 of them solo stops, 12 tackles for a loss and six interceptions.

    Defensive end K.J. Henry: Henry, who was signed to the Steelers practice squad on Oct. 12 but later released, was originally drafted in the fifth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders. Henry has played in 14 career games, with three starts, during his time with multiple teams including the Commanders (2023), Cincinnati Bengals (2024) and Dallas Cowboys (2024). He has 22 career tackles and two and a half sacks. Henry has spent time on the Cleveland Browns and most recently Philadelphia Eagles practice squads as well. He played college football at Clemson where he appeared in 48 games and recorded 13 sacks.

    Receiver Max Hurleman: Hurleman was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent following a tryout during rookie minicamp in 2025. He spent the season on the practice squad. Hurleman appeared in 51 games in five college seasons, starting 23. He had 194 carries for 814 yards and one touchdown. He also is hailed for his punt return ability, returning 49 punts for 353 yards, a 7.2-yard average. Hurleman spent his first four seasons at Colgate University before transferring to Notre Dame in 2024 where he played mainly on special teams.

    Offensive guard Steven Jones: Jones was originally signed by the Steelers to a Reserve/Future contract following the 2024 season and spent the 2025 preseason with the team. He spent the entire season on the practice squad. Jones originally signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon where he started all 14 games his senior season at right guard for an offensive line that led the nation with just five sacks allowed for the second year in a row.

    Running back Lew Nichols: Nichols spent the 2025 season on the practice squad after he was signed during training camp. Nichols was elevated for the Steelers-Colts game in Week 9, playing on special teams. Nichols was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, spending most of the season on the Reserve/Injured List. He has since spent time on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. Nichols played college football at Central Michigan where he rushed for 1,710 yards in 2021, leading the nation. He was the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2021.

    Receiver John Rhys Plumlee: Plumlee, who spent part of the 2025 season on the Steelers practice squad, originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. Plumlee played college football at Central Florida where he appeared in 52 career games, starting 33. At the quarterback position, Plumlee completed 464 of 760 passes for 5,838 yards and 34 touchdowns. As a receiver, he had 26 receptions for 296 yards. In 2023 he completed 161 of 256 passes for 2,271 yards and 15 touchdowns at Central Florida, after beginning his college career at Mississippi, where he played in 29 games, starting 10.

    Linebacker Julius Welschof: Welschof spent the 2025 season on the Steelers practice squad. Welschof was signed to a Reserve/Future contract following the 2024 season and spent the 2025 preseason with the team. Welschof was originally signed by the team as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft and spent time on the practice squad during the season. He started at defensive end for Charlotte but had his 2023 season cut short due to injury, playing in four games. He began his career at Michigan where he played in 35 games. In 2022, he played in 14 games. He is from Miesbach, Bavaria, Germany.

    Offensive tackle Aiden Williams: Williams was originally signed by the Steelers following the 2025 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent from Minnesota-Duluth. He was released before the season and also spent time with the Carolina Panthers. He played in 40 games over four seasons, including 11 games each for the last three years. Williams was a 2023 NSIC All-Conference second team selection as well as a key part of the school leading the conference and ranked seventh in the NCAA in rushing offense. He was also named All-NSIC second team in 2022. Williams is from Anchorage, Alaska.

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  • Trinity Rodman, Spirit size up Gotham FC in NWSL championship

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    (Photo credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Washington Spirit fell one win short of capturing the NWSL championship last year.

    They get another chance at grabbing the trophy on Saturday when they face Gotham FC.

    ‘Super pumped to be in the final again back-to-back years,’ Spirit star Trinity Rodman said. ‘Just focused on us and being able to take it home to D.C.’

    Rodman, and her team, also are focused on her health.

    The 23-year-old U.S. women’s national team star sustained a knee injury in mid-October that kept her out of action until she returned for a brief cameo at the end of the Spirit’s semifinal win last weekend.

    The extent of her availability for Saturday remained uncertain as of media day on Thursday.

    ‘Getting another week under my belt is nothing but positive,’ Rodman said. ‘I was able to get those minutes last week, and I’m really grateful for that. (The recovery) has been extremely smooth, and I’m hoping that we do really well this weekend and I can see the field again, hopefully for a couple more minutes.’

    Rodman acknowledged that the game will carry extra spice considering the Spirit beat Gotham in a penalty-kick shootout in last year’s semifinals. Gotham won the teams’ first meeting this season before the sides played to two scoreless draws.

    ‘Whenever we play Gotham, I think you never know what you’re going to get, which I think is the coolest thing about our sport,’ Rodman said. ‘… You have no idea what the result is, who’s going to score, what arguments are going to happen on the field. So I’m extremely excited to play Gotham again.’

    Gotham FC are seeking something of a rerun of their lone previous championship. They were the last playoff seed (then No. 6) in 2023 when they emerged on top. This year, they are the eighth and final seed in the playoffs, yet they are back in the final.

    The similarities end there, though, according to forward Midge Purce.

    ‘I think (2023) was a true Cinderella story where we really overcame, and I don’t look at this team and think Cinderella,’ Purce said. ‘(The final) is where we deserve to be for the amount of talent we have.’

    Gotham FC squeezed into the last playoff spot this year after going winless in their final four regular-season games (0-2-2).

    Then Gotham opened the playoffs against the league’s dominant top seed, the Kansas City Current, and pulled off a stunning 2-1 win in extra time. Katie Stengel’s goal in the 121st minute completed the upset.

    Gotham provided more dramatics in the semifinals at Orlando. Jaedyn Shaw’s 96th-minute free kick from just outside the penalty area bounced in the box and sailed into the far corner of the net, giving Gotham FC a 1-0 win.

    Shaw said of the postseason turnaround, ‘It’s the mentality. We knew that the past few games leading into the playoffs weren’t great for us, weren’t good performances, we weren’t getting results. So I think we knew coming in … we had to lock in and come together as a group and bring that mentality to win.’

    The Spirit, who fell 1-0 to the Orlando Pride in the 2024 NWSL championship match, finished second in the regular season this year despite failing to win their final three contests (0-2-1).

    Washington needed a penalty-kick shootout to get past Racing Louisville after a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals.

    The semifinals weren’t as stressful for the Spirit. Washington jumped on top of the Portland Thorns in the 27th minute when Rosemonde Kouassi’s end-to-end run down the right flank set up Gift Monday for the opening goal. A second-half tally from Croix Bethune secured a 2-0 victory.

    Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt said, ‘We’re young, we’re fiery, but keeping our heads. It’s a huge game (on Saturday), but I feel like if we don’t deviate from the stuff we do all year, we’ll find ourselves (winning).’

    –Rick Kaplan, Field Level Media

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  • Orlando City, Columbus Crew meet in pivotal pre-playoff matchup

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    (Photo credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)

    Orlando City and the Columbus Crew will meet in Central Florida on Saturday night in a match that will be critical for both teams’ playoff positioning.

    All nine Eastern Conference MLS Cup Playoff participants have already been finalized more than two weeks ahead of the final day of regular-season play on Oct. 18.

    But both seventh-place Orlando (14-7-10, 52 points) and ninth-place Columbus (13-8-11, 50 points) are still fighting to avoid the East wild-card game, which will be between the teams finishing in eighth and ninth.

    For much of the season, Columbus looked on track to be competing for the higher East positions.

    But after a stretch of only one win and six points earned in the last seven matches, manager Wilfried Nancy’s side would face a must-win wild-card match on the road if the postseason began now. With only two games left on the schedule, Nancy is trying to impart to his team that it still has the quality of the side that took 24 points from its first 11 games.

    ‘We are qualified for the playoffs,’ Nancy said, ‘because of the way we started the season. And this we have to think about it. … We are qualified because we had the best start of the season in the club’s history. So they can not forget that.’

    Nancy also suggested leading scorer Diego Rossi is questionable this week after missing the last three matches.

    Orlando’s trajectory has been the reverse, with the Lions at one point winning four straight league games through July and August.

    More recently, the team has used stoppage-time goals from Duncan McGuire and Alex Freeman, respectively, to earn dramatic late results in a 3-2 home win over Nashville on Sept. 20 and a 1-1 draw at FC Cincinnati last Sunday.

    Orlando City have also won three in a row at home and could move as high as fifth with a fourth consecutive home victory and other favorable results Saturday. Orlando also has a match in hand on Charlotte and Nashville, the current fifth- and sixth-place sides.

    ‘It’s something that at the beginning of the season was a challenge, but now we have that record that inspires us,’ Orlando manager Oscar Pareja said of that recent home form. ‘The boys were talking about it … how important the game is, but how important it is to play it in front of our people.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • Orlando Bloom recalls his 52-pound weight loss journey, its impact on his mental health

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    Washington DC [US], August 29 (ANI): Actor Orlando Bloom shared how his weight loss transformation for a role heavily impacted his mental health, reported People.

    He talked about losing 52 pounds for his role as a retired boxer in ‘The Cut’. He shared on the recent episode of ‘This Morning’ that he was only eating tuna and cucumber in the lead-up to the film’s production.

    ‘I was just exhausted,’ he said, noting that he had ‘no energy or brain power, ‘ according to People.

    ‘Just mentally, physically, I was hangry,’ he continued. ‘I was a horrible person to be around.’

    Bloom said he worked with nutritionist Philip Goglia, the same nutritionist Christian Bale used, and Goglia advised Bloom to reduce his meals from three to two.

    ‘Suddenly, all these foods were being taken away from me, and my protein powder was the last one,’ he added. ‘I was like, ‘No! Don’t take that one.’ Then basically I came down to [eating] just tuna and cucumber for the last three weeks.’

    He explained that because his mental health was impacted, he also suffered from ‘paranoia’ and ‘intrusive thoughts,’ reported People.

    Bloom also said that Goglia would regularly check his blood. ‘We’re supposed to eat and sleep and take care of ourselves,’ he continued. ‘It’s really a commentary on the lengths a person will go to have that second shot. I think that’s so relatable.’

    He noted that while athletes are known to cut weight ‘on the regular,’ actors tend to ‘take it to the extreme’ in the short period before they star in the role.

    During the shoot, he shared that he did all to do justice to his role, Bloom said, recalling that he would be ‘lying down in between takes on set,’ and then get up to do push-ups ‘to look a little bit bulkier.’

    Although he was able to push through the ‘intense’ diet, he doesn’t ‘recommend’ it to ‘anyone at home.’

    He shared previously that he was ‘excited by the challenge’ of transforming himself for the role. He confessed that his lack of sleep caused such a mental toll on him, adding, ‘Turns out you can’t sleep when you’re hungry!, as per the outlet.

    In the upcoming film, Bloom stars as an ex-boxer who suffered a defeat that ended his career in the ring. Then, when he ‘trains for redemption,’ a synopsis teases, an ‘obsession takes hold and reality unravels — and he may be spiralling into something far more terrifying,’ reported People.

    ‘The Cut’ is in theatres on September 5. (ANI)

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