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BALTIMORE — Trainer Bob Baffert loves to come to the Preakness. He loves the fact that all the top horses are in the same barn, so he can kibitz with his fellow trainers, such as an extended conversation with Mark Casse about the best crabcakes in town. He loves the casual atmosphere, in contrast to the high stakes, high pressure feeling at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.
Or maybe it’s because he’s won the second leg of the Triple Crown eight times, more than any other trainer in history.
So, he was asked why he was bringing Goal Oriented, an undefeated two-time starter who has never run in a stakes race, to the Preakness.
“FOMO,” Baffert said with a laugh, referring to the acronym for “fear of missing out.”
Make no mistake, Baffert doesn’t run a horse in a race this big just because he likes the crabcakes.
Baffert had actually planned to also run Rodriguez in the Preakness. Rodriguez, the easy winner of the Wood Memorial, was supposed to run in the Kentucky Derby but scratched because of a sore hoof. He was being pointed to the Preakness. But that didn’t work out either.
“[Goal Oriented] ran well, and he worked well and came out of [the race on the Derby undercard] really well,” Baffert said. “I was thinking Rodriguez. But, I didn’t get to train him. It took me a long time. I put in a whole week to get that foot right, and then I breezed him.
“But I really think [Goal Oriented] is a bigger, stronger horse, and I think Rodriguez was not quite ready. I’d rather just shoot for the Belmont with him. He’s a lighter horse.”
No one, including Baffert, knows how good Goal Oriented is. He is the fourth favorite on the morning line at 6-1. But, given that he’s trained by Baffert, will likely go off at lower odds.
“Oh, we don’t know, [how he’ll run],” Baffert said. “We’re just going to throw him in there. He’s handled everything here. He handled the ship, and he handled Churchill, came back like it was nothing. I can tell after they win. In the winner’s circle, he just stood there, stoic, didn’t even take a deep breath. He was like, ‘Hey, that’s it?’ I like that. Some horses come back and they’re blowing (breathing heavy), they’ll blow your hat off. He wasn’t that. He handled it pretty well. We’ve always been very high on him.”
Goal Oriented, a $425,000 purchase for the same ownership consortium that also has Rodriguez and Citizen Bull, ran his first race on April 6 at Santa Anita, winning by 3 ¼ lengths. His second race was on the undercard on Derby day, winning an allowance on three-quarters of a length.
“He’s an eyeful, he’s handsome, he’s beautiful,” said Tom Ryan, who heads the ownership group. “He’s a May 15 baby who is just now coming into his own. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s gone short, he’s gone long, he’s handled the slop.
“We don’t run in Grade 1s just to have a look at a horse. We think he’s in form and deserves a shot. He has to improve for sure. He’s been great in the morning and now we’re hoping he can continue it to the afternoon.”
Goal Oriented certainly looks like he is in form, but the question remains what specifically is his form and style.
“We don’t even know his style,” Baffert said. “We put him on the lead because of the mud [at Churchill Downs] and we didn’t want to mess around. [Jockey Flavien] Prat knows him now. He’s got tactical speed, but he doesn’t have to be rushed off his feet. He’s a big strong horse.”
Baffert doesn’t claim to have any super secret key to his success at the Preakness.
“I had the best horse,” Baffert said simply. “You have to have the best horse to win. And that’s usually the best secret a trainer can have in these big races is if you have the best horse.”
He won his first Preakness in 1997 with Silver Charm. His other winners were Real Quiet (1998), Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002), Lookin at Lucky (2010), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018) and National Treasure (2023).
This will most likely be the last time Baffert runs at Pimlico as it is currently constructed. The track is scheduled to be torn down almost immediately after Saturday’s race and the Preakness will move to nearby Laurel for two years during the rebuild.
The track surface and configuration will pretty much be the same. However, the place where the fans watch the race will be very different.
Baffert was more concerned that the stakes barn will remain. It will but it’s unclear if the same structure will remain or if a new barn will be built
“I like this barn,” Baffert said. “I would like to take this barn to Santa Anita.”
On Baffert’s long list of accomplishments, that’s one he may fall short on.
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton added that the situation was “ridiculous”.
The seven-time champion said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There’s lots of changes that are needed, for sure.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who last year was the first driver to be punished for swearing, with a form of community service – said the change was “a bit better – it’s a start”.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said when the change of rules was announced on Wednesday that he had “led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships”.
However, speaking during media day at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell said: “We’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”
Asked why the drivers had not had dialogue with Ben Sulayem, Russell said: “That’s a good question. It seems more challenging than it should be really, but we’ve all put our views forward.
“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten to a point of no return, but you at least want to see willingness from the other party.
“I think we feel we’ve put our views forward and we want to have conversations and dialogue and there’s only so much you can ask.”
World championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren said: “The fact there has been changes made is good. The stewards have a lot more control now, in the fine print, which is good because the circumstances definitely need to be taken into account.
“It’s a good step forward. One of the big things for the FIA was putting something for abusing officials which I think is very fair and reasonable.
“I think maybe some of the other areas got caught up in that and it felt a bit harsh. But there are some genuine reasons for what they are doing.”
Sainz is the father of Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr.
“It could only benefit the sport having Carlos with the inside knowledge of Formula 1 from a driver’s perspective and then Carlos Sr’s knowledge from motorsport generally. It could be a brilliant recipe,” he said.
Russell dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz’s son, who is also a GPDA director.
He said: “You’re so far sort of removed ultimately from a technical standpoint. It’s down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.
“The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we’ve seen recently and far less visible.
“We always knew who the president of the FIA was, especially with Jean Todt, but you’re working in the background, you’re not working in the forefront. So I don’t see there ever being a conflict.”
Super Bowl champion and Olympic gold medalist? Some NFL players could be at the center of the venn diagram in 2028.
NFL team owners could vote next week at the league’s meetings on whether to allow NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A resolution, announced Thursday, included several possible guidelines as further negotiations continue between the NFL Players Assn., the league, national governing bodies and Olympic authorities.
The proposed resolution would permit players under an NFL contract to try out for a 2028 Olympic flag football team, but limit NFL player participation to no more than one from each NFL team for each national team. In addition, each NFL team’s designated international player can play for his home country.
With injuries a primary concern for the crossover, the proposal adds that any NFL player would have injury protection and salary-cap credit if they are injured while playing Olympic flag football. Olympic flag football teams would have to implement certain minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces for eligible NFL players to participate.
The resolution also calls for a flag football schedule that does not unreasonably conflict with a player’s NFL commitments. The 2028 Olympics are scheduled for July 14, 2028-July 30, 2028. The timing could potentially conflict with the beginning of some training camps, but the flag football competition, which is scheduled to take place at BMO Stadium, will only span about a week of the Games.
Flag football is one of five new sports in the 2028 Olympic program and one of two sports, along with squash, making its Olympic debut. The U.S. men’s flag football team is five-time defending flag football world champions.
NFL owners are “committed to supporting the growth of flag football,” the resolution states.
“The membership believes that participation by NFL players in flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California will support such growth and advance several league interests,” the resolution continues, “including increasing fan and public interest in flag football, expanding the global reach of the NFL, and providing greater opportunities for fan engagement and for our league partners.”
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini recovered from a slow start to reach the Italian Open final with a 7-5 6-1 victory against Peyton Stearns.
World number five Paolini struggled in the early stages and faced a set point when trailing 5-3 in the opener, but American Stearns was unable to hold serve.
The home favourite overturned the deficit to take the opening set before growing in confidence in the second.
Paolini’s win makes her the first Italian woman to reach the singles final in Rome since 2014 when her current doubles partner, Sara Errani, was beaten by Serena Williams.
She is attempting to become Italy’s first home women’s singles champion for 40 years.
Her final opponent will be either American world number three Coco Gauff or China’s Zheng Qinwen, who knocked out world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
“At the beginning, I was feeling so slow,” Paolini, 29, told Sky Sports.
“I told myself I had to hit the ball harder because she was playing amazing, but I managed to stay in there somehow and I won the match and I’m really happy about it.
“In the first round I was nervous and in the second also, and maybe again today, but the crowd was unbelievable and they helped me a lot. It’s beautiful to play here in Italy and they support us no matter what, so that is the most important thing.”
Asked about the final, Paolini said of her prospective opponents: “They are both very strong players with good forehands and can play with speed on the clay court. For sure, my coach will watch their match and we will prepare our tactics.”
Raffaella Reggi was the last Italian woman to win the title, in 1985.
And it came at the expense of the Dodgers’ longest-tenured position player.
In a major midseason roster shuffled Wednesday, the club called up Rushing, the big-hitting catcher who was ranked as the top prospect in their organization, and designated backup catcher Austin Barnes for assignment, closing the book on Barnes’ two-time title-winning tenure in Los Angeles while opening a new one on Rushing’s highly anticipated MLB career.
It’s no surprise that Rushing, a 2022 second-round pick out of the University of Louisville, is getting a crack at the majors. Over four minor-league seasons, the catcher slugged his way through the farm system by batting .277 with 54 home runs, 185 RBIs and a .931 OPS. After winning the organization’s minor league player of the year award last year, Rushing opened this season in triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .308 in 31 games and ranking seventh in the Pacific Coast League with a .938 OPS. Even back this spring, manager Dave Roberts said Rushing’s bat was big-league ready.
“Pretty excited, obviously,” Rushing said from the Dodgers Stadium dugout on Wednesday afternoon, fresh off his first batting practice after arriving in the Southland in the afternoon. “Any person is gonna be excited in this situation. I think the biggest thing is just get around these guys and be as comfortable as possible. Understand that it’s still the same game, and I get to play with some of the best players in the world.”
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score) at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score) at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score) Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score) at Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105 (box score) Thursday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Sunday at Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., ABC*
No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score) at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score) Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score) Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score) at Minnesota 121, Golden State 110 (box score)
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score) Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score) Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score) at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score) Indiana 114, at Cleveland 105 (box score)
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score) New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score) Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score) at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score) at Boston 127, New York 102 (box score) Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*
*if necessary
ANGELS
Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Randy Vásquez pitched six innings of four-hit ball in the San Diego Padres’ 5-1 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.
Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to 13 games with two hits and two walks as the Padres took two of three from the Angels.
Brandon Lockridge added a two-run single in the eighth for San Diego, which has won 10 of 14 to keep pace with the Dodgers in the NL West.
The Rams will open their 2025 season on Sept. 7 against the Texans at SoFi Stadium, a presumably comfortable start to a 17-game schedule that will see the Rams travel the second-most air miles in the NFL.
The NFL announced the full schedule on Wednesday, and the Rams in the first seven weeks will board flights for the majority of the 34,832 miles they will travel for games against opponents in the NFC West, NFC South, NFC East and AFC South, including one in London.
The Rams, who advanced to the NFC divisional round last season, are regarded as a Super Bowl contender.
Sept. 7, HOUSTON, 1:25 p.m. (CBS) Sept. 14, at Tennessee, 10 a.m. (CBS) Sept. 21, at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. (Fox) Sept. 28, INDIANAPOLIS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox) Oct. 2, SAN FRANCISCO, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime) Oct. 12, at Baltimore, 10 a.m. (Fox) Oct. 19, at Jacksonville in London, 6:30 a.m. (NFL Network) Oct. 26, off week. Nov. 2, NEW ORLEANS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox) Nov. 9, at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. (Fox) Nov. 16, SEATTLE, 1:05 p.m. (Fox) Nov. 23, TAMPA BAY, 5:20 p.m. (NBC) Nov. 30, at Carolina, 10 a.m. (Fox) Dec. 7, at Arizona, 1:25 p.m (Fox) Dec. 14, DETROIT, 1:25 p.m. (Fox) Dec. 18, at Seattle, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime) Dec. 29, at Atlanta, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) Week 17, ARIZONA, TBD (TBD)
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: As Jim Harbaugh said last year in preparation for an extended road trip: Bring the board games and snacks.
This will be a long ride.
The Chargers will cover the most air miles of any NFL team in 2025, traveling more than 37,000 miles, according to Bookies.com. The itinerary starts with a trip to Sao Paulo to face AFC West rival Kansas City on Sept. 5 in the NFL’s second regular-season game played in South America.
The season opener is the first of three consecutive divisional games to kick off the Chargers’ second year under Harbaugh. The AFC West added former Seahawks and USC coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas, where the Chargers will play at 7 p.m. PDT on Sept. 15 in a “Monday Night Football” showcase. It’s one of five prime-time games for the Chargers.
From Ben Bolch: In his later years, John Wooden liked to muse about one oddity of his first 12 years as UCLA’s basketball coach.
His paychecks were always signed by the student body president.
One of those presidents, Rafer Johnson, also played for Wooden, meaning that Johnson in effect could have been considered his coach’s boss.
The arrangement stemmed from an ethos that gave UCLA students a large measure of control over their own campus from the 1920s through the late 1950s. The students ran the campus bookstore, the cafeteria and intercollegiate athletics, all of it managed by an organization called Associated Students UCLA that was overseen by a student-majority board of directors.
Change came after a dispute about abandoning the Pacific Coast Conference as the result of a scandal involving payments to players. The University of California regents, irked by the lack of direct authority that the chancellors at UCLA and sister school UC Berkeley had over the intercollegiate athletic programs at each campus, decided that starting in the summer of 1960, the athletic departments at each campus would be university departments reporting directly to their respective chancellor. That move came with the mandate that each athletic program was considered an auxiliary enterprise similar to campus parking and housing, with the expectation that they would be similarly self-sustaining.
Tai Baribo scored two second-half goals, including the winner in stoppage time, and the Philadelphia Union rallied to beat the Galaxy for the first time at home with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night.
The Galaxy (0-9-4) continued the worst start by a defending champion in MLS history despite Diego Fagúndez becoming the eighth player in league history to reach 75 goals and 75 assists in a career.
Baribo scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time after tying the match 2-2 with a goal in the 50th for the Union (8-3-2), who are on a five-match unbeaten run. Baribo has a league-leading 10 goals this season.
From Kevin Baxter: The weather is starting to heat up and so is LAFC, which ran its unbeaten streak to a season-best six games Wednesday with a 4-0 win over the Seattle Sounders at BMO Stadium.
The four goals, which marked a season high for LAFC, came from Cengiz Under, Jeremy Ebobisse, Denis Bouanga and Yaw Yeboah, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made three saves to earn his second clean sheet in three games. It was his league-leading sixth shutout of the season.
LAFC went in front to stay in the 26th minute on Under’s second MLS goal, a left-footed strike from well outside the box that appeared to hit a Seattle defender before one-hopping past keeper Andrew Thomas, who was making his second start of the season.
That’s apparently the conclusion the Kings came to in their search for a general manager because they chose Ken Holland, the architect of an Edmonton Oilers team that knocked the Kings out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round in each of the last four seasons.
Holland, 69, will replace Rob Blake, who stepped down last week. The Kings made the playoffs five times in eight seasons under Blake, a former Hall of Fame defenseman, but lost in the first round each time. The team hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, a record 11-year drought for the franchise.
“As we did our due diligence, we identified Ken as the absolute best option and acted decisively to make him our general manager,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said in a statement Wednesday. “His track record of success is undeniable and after our conversations with him, we were clearly convinced he was the right person for us at this time.
Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary) Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary) Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary) at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary) Edmonton 1, at Vegas 0 (OT) (summary)
C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary) Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary) Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary) at Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 (summary) Thursday at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m., TNT Saturday at Dallas, TBD* Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*
Eastern Conference
Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary) at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary) at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary) at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary) Florida 6, at Toronto 1 (summary) Friday at Florida, TBD, TNT Sunday at Toronto, TBD, TNT*
Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary) at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary) at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary) at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary) Thursday at Washington, 4 p.m., TNT Saturday at Carolina, TBD* Monday at Washington, TBD, ESPN*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, battles Pompoon from the top of the stretch and wins the Preakness Stakes by a head.
1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over Vulcan’s Forge.
1952 — Johnny Longden becomes 2nd jockey to ride 4,000 winners.
1953 — In his first world heavyweight title defense, Rocky Marciano KOs former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 1st round at Chicago Stadium.
1963 — Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner’s Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.
1971 — Canonero II, ridden by Gustavo Avila, captures the Preakness Stakes by 1½ lengths over Eastern Fleet.
1985 — Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.
1990 — Petr Klima scores at 15:13 of the third overtime to end the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history for the Edmonton Oilers — a 3-2 series-opening victory over the Boston Bruins in a game delayed 25 minutes because of a lighting problem.
1991 — Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner’s Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.
1994 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: Laura Davies of England wins her second major title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Alice Ritzman.
1998 — Notah Begay III joins Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only players to shoot a 59 on a U.S. pro tour. He does it at the Nike Old Dominion Open.
1999 — Charismatic wins the Preakness and a chance to become the 12th Triple Crown champion, finishing 1½ lengths ahead of Menifee. It’s the 12th Triple Crown race victory for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
2002 — 10th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at Glasgow.
2003 — The three-year championship reign of the Lakers ends. Tim Duncan has 37 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker adds 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs overpower the Lakers 110-82 to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2.
2004 — With one breathtaking surge, Smarty Jones posts a record 11½-length victory in the Preakness. Rock Hard Ten, in his fourth start, finishes strong for second ahead of Eddington.
2005 — Annika Sorenstam cruises to a 10-stroke win in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, finishing with a 23-under 265 total, matching the biggest 72-hole win of her career.
2010 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.
2011 — Finland scores five late goals to beat Sweden 6-1 and claim its second title at the hockey world championships. The Finns also beat rival Sweden in the 1995 final.
2011 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.
2015 — Stephen Curry scores 32 points, including a 62-footer to end the third quarter, and Golden State advances to its first Western Conference finals since 1976 by beating Memphis 108-95. The Warriors the first team since 1985 to hit 14 or more 3s in three consecutive playoff games.
2016 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: World #1 and reigning PGA Champion Jason Day of Australia leads wire-to-wire to win by 4 strokes ahead of Kevin Chappell.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1918 — Washington’s Walter Johnson pitched a 1-0, 18-inning victory over Lefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox, who also went the distance.
1919 — After 12 scoreless innings, Cincinnati scored 10 runs off Al Mamaux in the 13th to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-0.
1933 — The major leagues advance the cut-down date a month, limiting rosters to 23 players today instead of June 15th.
1935 — Lou Gehrig steals home in a 4-0 Yankee win over the Tigers. It is his 15th and last steal of home, all of which were double steals.
1941 — Joe DiMaggio began his 56-game hitting streak against Chicago’s Eddie Smith, going 1-for-4 with one RBI.
1944 — Clyde Shoun of the Reds tossed a no-hitter against the Boston Braves for a 1-0 victory in Cincinnati. Chuck Aleno’s only home run of the year was the difference.
1951 — At Fenway Park, the Red Sox celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first American League game in Boston.
1952 — Detroit’s Virgil Trucks pitched the first of his two no-hitters for the season, beating the Washington Senators 1-0. Vic Wertz’s two-out homer in the ninth off Bob Porterfield won the game.
1960 — Don Cardwell became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first start after being traded. The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 at Wrigley Field.
1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels pitched the first of a record seven no-hitters, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Ryan tossed his second gem two months later.
1978 — His 7th-inning, two-run homer moves Willie Stargell past the late Roberto Clemente into sole possession of second place on Pittsburgh’s all-time RBI list, his total of 1,307 now trailing only Honus Wagner’s 1,475.
1981 — Len Barker of Cleveland pitched the first perfect game in 13 years as the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 at Municipal Stadium.
1993 — The Montreal Expos retired their first number, No. 10 for Rusty Staub.
1996 — Chicago outfielder Tony Phillips went into the stands to confront a heckling fan during the White Sox’s 20-8 victory at Milwaukee. Phillips, who already had changed into street clothes after being taken out of the game in the sixth inning, went after a 23-year-old fan in the left-field bleachers.
2005 — Morgan Ensberg hit three home runs and finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs in Houston’s 9-0 victory over San Francisco.
2005 — New York’s Tino Martinez hit two homers and drove in three runs in the Yankees’ 6-4 win over Oakland. The two homers gave Martinez eight homers in his last eight games.
2018 — Two days after being sidelined by a broken bone in his hand, 2B Robinson Cano of the Mariners is suspended for 80 days for testing positive for a banned substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
2019 — Pitcher Edwin Jackson makes history by playing for his 14th team when he starts today’s game for the Blue Jays against the Giants.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Reposts flood in. Likes climb faster than administrators can count.
Each spring, the Chargers know how to run up this score.
When it comes to what senior director of production Tyler Pino calls the “content Super Bowl,” the Chargers are multi-time season NFL schedule release champions. They broke the internet with popular anime videos in 2022 and 2023. A Sims 2 theme in 2024 kept online sleuths laughing for weeks at inside jokes.
The schedule reveal video posted Wednesday in the pixelated style of Minecraft surpassed one million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 45 minutes, and four million in three hours, confirming the Chargers’ social media dynasty. The next closest NFL team schedule video was viewed roughly 1.5 million times during that same span.
should we REALLY make our schedule release video in minecraft?
Each year’s creative videos have suddenly become more notable than the schedules they promote. But the Chargers’ content team tries to stay focused on the process of winning fans over one like, lower-case letter and laugh at a time.
“I don’t think our goal is to be the best on the internet,” said Megan Julian, Chargers senior director of digital and social media, “but our goal is to build generational fandom on the internet.”
When Julian joined the Chargers in 2018, she was the only person behind the social media accounts. The franchise had just returned to L.A., where a whole generation had grown up without the NFL. Fans were already invested in different teams. Instead of trying to change an established fan’s mind, the content team aimed to cultivate new ones by reaching different, younger audiences that will fill SoFi Stadium for generations.
Allie Raymond, left, and Megan Julian of the Chargers’ social media team, walk on the practice field during rookie minicamp at the team’s headquarters in El Segundo.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Julian made the Chargers’ social media accounts feel like entering a group chat. The team, which includes director of organic social media Allie Raymond; Jaemin Cho, the senior vertical video coordinator; Lorren Walker, programming manager for organic social media; and coordinator Hannah Johnson, post in lower-case text in short, sharp bursts. They never overexplain the joke.
Here, among friends, it’s already known.
“You’re talking with the fans,” Julian said. “Not at them.”
Occasionally commenters complain about the lower case letters or can’t keep up with the newest slang. The schedule release videos often include pointed jokes toward opposing players or teams. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, who controversially sat out for one play last year because he was tired, ran out of gas in a go-kart race in this year’s video.
But the unique tone has built a distinct brand for an organization that is fighting for any way to stand out in a crowded L.A. market.
“We’re creative, and we think a little bit off kilter,” said David Bretto, the director of creative video. “But we do that because we’re allowed to do that, and the organization sees the success.”
A member of the Chargers’ content team films players taking part in rookie minicamp at the team’s headquarters in El Segundo on May 9.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
“There are only 20 days a year that we actually play the sport. Then the other 345, we’re just entertaining people.”
— Jason Levine, Chargers senior vice president of brand, creative and content
The content team’s reputation precedes them. When videographers checked bags at the NFL combine, security guards asked what they were cooking for the schedule release. Incoming rookies asked who is behind the keys of the social media accounts that go viral with the latest TikTok trends.
Inspired by the energy of young, charismatic stars on the 2018 team including Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Derwin James Jr., Julian started to craft a social media persona that matched the on-field personnel. For the franchise’s current era, showing the players’ personalities remains at the forefront.
Some players welcome the sight of the social media team holding a tiny microphone tethered to their phones. Linebacker Daiyan Henley is as ubiquitous on the Chargers’ TikTok account as the team’s logo. A more reserved personality such as Justin Herbert still shines through in videos that showcase the star quarterback’s humble charm.
Highlight videos of Herbert avoiding their cameras still turn into internet gold because while this is a football team, football is only a fraction of the franchise’s digital brand.
“There are only 20 days a year that we actually play the sport,” said Jason Levine, Chargers senior vice president of brand, creative and content. “Then the other 345, we’re just entertaining people.”
Allie Raymond records players and coaches taking part in Chargers rookie minicamp on May 9.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
The biggest internet stage is the schedule release. The Seattle Seahawks sparked a revolution in 2016 with a cupcake-themed video in which special ingredients representing each city of their opponents were stirred into a batter. Some teams hire production companies and outside contractors to prepare for the big reveal. This season, NBA legend Allen Iverson and actress Brenda Song made cameos for the Buffalo Bills and the Rams, respectively.
But Julian proudly notes that all of the Chargers’ videos have been produced in-house.
The Chargers’ first major schedule release video came in 2019 when they represented each opponent with stock footage. A dog dressed in a lion’s mane. A person in a bear suit on a picnic. Both games against the AFC West rivals Kansas City Chiefs were represented by awkward chefs. The 73-second collection of clips was so weird it somehow worked.
The day before it dropped, Julian and Bretto nearly scrapped the project all together.
“To me, schedule release kind of feels like you’re on a cliff,” Bretto said. “You put all this work to get to the top of this mountain, and at the very end, there’s nothing to do but just jump. You don’t know how the audience is going to react.”
Just count the tens of thousands of likes. The reception is clear.
Derek McInnes will not be in charge of Kilmarnock for Sunday’s match against Heart of Midlothian with the manager poised to move from the Ayrshire club to their Scottish Premiership rivals.
The 53-year-old had said on Tuesday that he expected to be in the dugout for the final two games of the season despite the clubs having agreed a compensation deal for his summer switch.
But, following Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat away to Motherwell, Kilmarnock stated on their website: “It has been agreed between our board of directors, Derek McInnes and his staff that the best approach would be if they were not in charge for the final match of the season.”
McInnes had indicated before the match that talks were still ongoing to finalise his move to Tynecastle, but it was assistant Paul Sheerin who was sent out to address the media after the loss at Fir Park.
However, Kilmarnock now say Sheerin and coach Alan Archibald will also not be involved in Sunday’s game against Hearts.
“First team preparation and matchday duties will be undertaken by Chris Burke and Craig Clark,” they stated.
That doesn’t mean the implication doesn’t bother him.
Five times since Betts and Shohei Ohtani flipped spots in the Dodgers’ lineup late last season — Ohtani moving to the leadoff spot, and Betts to the two-hole — opposing teams have intentionally walked Ohtani to bring Betts to the plate.
On almost every occasion, Betts has made it a regrettable decision.
That was the case again Wednesday in the Dodgers’ 9-3 win over the Athletics; a game that was close until Betts broke it open in the eighth, coming through once more after a free pass to Ohtani.
With one out in the inning, and Kiké Hernández standing at second base after being bunted over by Miguel Rojas following his leadoff single, the Athletics made the sensible choice. Manager Mark Kotsay elected to intentionally walk Ohtani, trying to avoid disaster with his club facing a 4-3 deficit. He instead wanted reliever Tyler Ferguson in a right-on-right matchup against Betts, whose up-and-down start to the season had once again been on the decline with seven hitless at-bats to begin this week’s series.
Ever since this phenomenon began last September, Betts has repeatedly acknowledged the logic behind it.
“I mean, I get it,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to pitch to Shohei either. I understand.”
But the more it has happened, the more Betts has seemed to take it personally. And on Wednesday, he let the A’s know exactly how he felt.
In a 2-and-1 count, Betts got a fastball over the heart of the plate and drove it deep to the right-center field gap. Hernández scored easily. Ohtani raced home behind him. As Dodger Stadium erupted in celebration, however, no one screamed louder than Betts.
As the former MVP and eight-time All-Star pulled into second base, he immediately turned toward the visiting first-base dugout, clenched his fists and — with three separate, pointed shouts — bellowed, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” in the Athletics’ direction. There was no smile, or sigh of relief. Just a brief display of the contempt he so obviously felt.
Shohei Ohtani, right, celebrates with Kiké Hernández after scoring on Mookie Betts’ two-run double in the eighth inning Wednesday against the Athletics.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Just let some emotion go,” Betts said afterward. “You’re just in the game, and you kind of get lost in it.”
In his five at-bats following an intentional walk to Ohtani, Betts is now three for four with seven RBIs, including:
A three-run home run in extra innings at Angel Stadium last September.
A tie-breaking ninth-inning single against the Atlanta Braves a few weeks after that.
A bases-loaded walk last week in Miami, doubling a seventh-inning lead from one run to two.
And Wednesday’s double, which when combined with Max Muncy’s three-run homer three batters later turned what had been a close game into a six-run laugher.
“To be quite frank, it was the right baseball decision, given how Mookie was swinging the bat [compared to] Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, with Betts batting .263 to Ohtani’s .304 average.
“But it was good,” Roberts said of the outcome. “Sometimes that kind of unlocks a player. It locks them in a little bit more when you take things personal. And for him to come through in that moment — it seems like when things like that do happen, he seems like he comes through more times than not.”
Betts offered a similar take, noting that “choosing to pitch to Shohei is probably, a lot of times, a losing battle” and that “I hadn’t hit anything all day,” having left two runners stranded on a flyout that ended the sixth inning in his previous at-bat.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers during the first inning Wednesday against the Athletics.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m sure if you look at the percentages,” Betts continued, “it probably adds up in their favor, for sure.”
Still, as soon as Betts watched Rojas lay down his sacrifice bunt with Ohtani on deck, “I knew when he was walking to the plate they weren’t going to pitch to him.”
So, he entered a different, more revenge-minded headspace.
“I just tried to mentally prepare to do something great,” he said.
That wasn’t the only example of greatness the Dodgers (28-15) received Wednesday.
Ohtani and Andy Pages both hit leadoff homers in the first and second innings, giving the team an early 2-0 lead.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-3, 2.12 ERA) grinded out a quality six-inning, three-run start even though his velocity was down a tick and his usually pristine command remained spotty for a fourth-consecutive outing — evidenced by a hanging first-pitch curveball Tyler Soderstrom hit for a two-run homer in the third, and a leadoff walk in the fourth that set up Miguel Andujar for a go-ahead double.
Hyeseong Kim also continued his hot start to his MLB career, leveling the score at 3-3 in the fifth with a wallscraping line drive for his first big-league blast. He also added an infield single, raising his batting average to .360 since being called up two weeks ago, and made a couple nice plays defensively in his first start at Dodger Stadium.
Hyeseong Kim, right, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after hitting his first career home run in the Dodgers’ win Wednesday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“As a person who always dreamed to play in this stadium, I’m really happy,” Kim, a childhood Dodgers fan while growing up in South Korea, said through interpreter Joe Lee. “I’m really thrilled right now.”
Rojas, meanwhile, had perhaps the night’s biggest hit in the sixth, coming off the bench for a pinch-hit double that scored Michael Conforto all the way from first to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.
“I just thought that tonight we competed really well,” Roberts said. “I thought the fight with our guys was really good.”
Still, after watching the upstart Athletics (22-21) explode for 11 runs in Tuesday’s series opener, the Dodgers knew more late-game breathing room might be required. That, Betts added, was also part of the reason he was so animated after his game-sealing double.
“We just needed something to happen to ensure a win there,” he said. “It was a mix of happiness for myself and the boys.”
Plus, his reaction so clearly epitomized, a dash of disrespect being released, as well.
“I do like the way that he takes it personally,” Roberts said. “I think that you could see that frustration kind of come out, with the joy.”
Football is a big part of the holidays in the US. The Detroit Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving game every year since 1934 and this season they welcome the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, 27 November (18:00 GMT).
After hosting their first Thanksgiving game in 1966, only twice have the Dallas Cowboys not played on the holiday, and this year ‘America’s Team’ face the Chiefs (21:30 GMT).
The Baltimore Ravens then complete the Thanksgiving triple-header at home to the Cincinnati Bengals (01:20 GMT, 28 November).
In 2023, the NFL played its first game on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – and this year the Eagles host the Chicago Bears in a game which will be broadcast on Amazon Prime (20:00 GMT).
After streaming two games on Christmas Day last season, Netflix will again feature two festive fixtures, with the Washington Commanders hosting the Cowboys (18:00 GMT) before the Minnesota Vikings welcome the Lions (21:30 GMT).
There is even a third Christmas game this year as Amazon Prime will show Kansas City’s home match with the Denver Broncos (01:15 GMT, 26 December).
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland says the team want to give departing midfielder Kevin de Bruyne the FA Cup send-off he deserves – and tells Kelly Somers why he and much-travelled ex-manager Neil Warnock share a similar footballing outlook.
Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian has bought a stake in Women’s Super League champions Chelsea.
Ohanian, who is the husband of American tennis star Serena Williams, will have a seat on the club’s board after purchasing a 8-10% share, believed to be worth around £20m.
In a post to X, external, Ohanian said: “I’ve bet big on women’s sports before, and I’m doing it again.
“I’m proud to announce that I’m joining Chelsea as an investor and board member. I’m honored for the chance to help this iconic club become every American’s favorite WSL team and much, much more.”
He also posted images of Chelsea kits with the names of his children, Olympia and Adira, on the backs.
The 42-year-old has invested in women’s football previously, as the largest shareholder in American club side Angel City FC until it was sold in 2024 for £192.3 million – the highest price for a women’s sports team until this deal.
CHESTER, Pa. — Tai Baribo scored two second-half goals, including the winner in stoppage time, and the Philadelphia Union rallied to beat the Galaxy for the first time at home with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night.
The Galaxy (0-9-4) continued the worst start by a defending champion in MLS history despite Diego Fagúndez becoming the eighth player in league history to reach 75 goals and 75 assists in a career.
Baribo scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time after tying the match 2-2 with a goal in the 50th for the Union (8-3-2), who are on a five-match unbeaten run. Baribo has a league-leading 10 goals this season.
Defender Mauricio Cuevas scored for the first time this season and the second time in 31 career appearances to give the Galaxy the lead in the 31st minute. Fagúndez scored his second goal this season for a 2-0 lead in the 37th. Marco Reus collected assists on both scores.
Philadelphia tied it in the first five minutes of the second half. Jacob Glesnes headed in a goal off a corner kick by Kai Wagner in the 48th minute.
Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick made the 10th start of his career and did not have a save for the Union.
John McCarthy had four saves as the Galaxy built a 2-0 lead in the first half and finished with seven.
Philadelphia improved to 1-3-2 all time at home in the Galaxy’s first visit since 2018.
The Union travel to play Atlanta United on Saturday. The Galaxy will host rival LAFC on Sunday.
English defender Eric Dier will join Monaco on a three-year deal when his Bayern Munich contract expires on 1 July.
Dier made 47 appearances for Bayern but turned down the chance to stay at Allianz Arena and will leave as a Bundesliga champion.
The 31-year-old initially joined the German club on loan from Tottenham in January 2024 before signing a permanent deal last summer.
He will join Ligue 1 Monaco as a free agent until June 2028, with the option for an extra 12 months.
The German title is the first trophy won by Dier, who has been capped 49 times for England and finished as a runner-up with Spurs in the 2015 and 2021 League Cup finals, as well as the 2019 Champions League final.
Dier made 365 appearances in nine and a half seasons with Spurs, who he joined in August 2014 from Sporting Lisbon.
In a video published on Monaco’s X account, external, Dier posed with the club shirt and said: “I cannot wait to get started.
“I’m really looked forward to wearing this shirt and I can’t wait to meet everyone at the club and the Stade Louis II. I’m going to give everything to the club.”
U.S. and UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles is a two-time Olympian and three-time NCAA individual champion.
She looks completely comfortable in her own skin as she’s performing a floor routine to music by empowering artists like Beyoncé and proudly displaying the more than 20 “amazing art pieces” she has tattooed on her body.
For much of Chiles’ life, however, the body that helped propel her to athletic greatness made her feel “ugly” and self-conscious. But when she first saw photos of herself as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, “I literally started bawling my eyes out,” Chiles recently told People magazine.
U.S. and UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles appears on the cover of the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, on newsstands beginning May 17. The portrait was shot in Boca Raton, Fla., on Nov. 4.
(Ben Horton /Sports Illustrated / Contour by Getty Images)
Chiles said her mother, Gina, reacted similarly.
“My mom actually cried a few times from some of the photos because she’s been there literally every single moment of my life,” Chiles said, “so I think it was more of her realizing how beautiful her daughter is and what I’ve gone through.
“She was there when I would cry and be like, ‘Mom, they’re saying this. They’re saying that.’ Or I would look at myself in the mirror and call myself ugly almost every day. I think it was just really cool for her to know that I get this opportunity and that I get the ability to embrace who Jordan is.”
Chiles was a member of the U.S. Olympic squads that won team silver at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and team gold at the Paris Games last summer. Chiles was also awarded her first individual Olympic medal, a bronze in the floor exercise, in Paris but it was taken away because of a technicality.
When the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue hits newsstands on Saturday, Chiles will be one of four models appearing on her own cover (Olivia Dunne, Salma Hayek Pinault and Lauren Chan are the others). As opposed to how she felt looking at her own reflection years ago, Chiles said she is “in awe” after seeing herself on the front of the iconic magazine.
“I’ve embraced every single aspect of who I am and I’ve embraced the amazing body that I have,” Chiles said.
Speaking to BBC Sport, consultant colorectal surgeon Professor Gillian Tierney said injuries similar to the one suffered by Awoniyi can be fatal.
“The injury is really serious. It is potentially life-threatening,” said Tierney.
“It is very easy to miss at the point of contact and can take hours to diagnose.
“In a hospital setting we would send a patient for a CT scan which could take up to 10 hours.
“If it occurred to an athlete who was super fit, very muscular and was running on adrenaline then I think it would be extremely understandable to miss it. Fluid leaking from the intestine would not be easy to diagnose straight away.
“Surgery is usually required and the stomach would be opened up. The mortality stat is 9%. So if an athlete – who went through the procedure – was really fit, they would stand a good chance of being OK.
“It would be different if the operation occurred for an 80-year-old, who has other health issues.”
Mr Harpaul Flora, consultant vascular and general surgeon at The London Clinic, said ruptured intestines are “a pretty rare injury”.
He added: “It’s either a compression of the abdominal wall which has led to tearing and liquid seeping out – or the tear of an artery.
“Neither of those would be able to be diagnosed without a scan, there may have been bruising.
“It can be life-threatening. If it wasn’t treated by a hospital it can give you an infection. It could then lead to sepsis, which is a life-threatening consequence.”
