Dec 14, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic (00) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff (32) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The Washington Wizards open their post-All-Star campaign with the first of a back-to-back set against the Indiana Pacers.
Game info
When: Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Injuries: For the Wizards, Trae Young (knee, quad), Anthony Davis (hand, groin), Cam Whitmore (shoulder), Alex Sarr (hamstring), and D’Angelo Russell (not with team) are out.
For the Pacers, Aaron Nesmith (lumbar), Micah Potter (ankle), TJ McConnell (hamstring), Quenton Jackson (G League) are questionable, while Ivica Zubac (ankle), Pascal Siakam (personal), Obi Toppin (foot), Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), and Johnny Furphy (knee) are out.
What to watch for
The Wizards and Pacers begin a back-to-back set Thursday that bears massive implications in the battle to the bottom. The 15-40 Pacers have one win more than the 14-39 Wizards, who entered the All-Star break with the second-worst record in the NBA.
While a split of the two games appears likely, Washington could potentially cement their place in the bottom four with a pair of losses against Indiana. Inversely, the Pacers would fall below the Wizards if the latter takes both ends of the back-to-back.
The Pacers are coming off back-to-back wins over the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, while the Wiz Kids have lost their last three contests against the Nets, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten scored 22 points and No. 18 Michigan State cruised past Northwestern 104-68 on Wednesday.
Michigan State (21-6, 10-6 Big Ten) took control early and broke the game open with a 32-14 second quarter to build a 55-28 halftime lead. The Spartans shot 53% overall from the field and made 13 of 26 (50%) from 3-point range while extending the margin beyond 25 early in the second half.
Northwestern (8-18, 2-13) showed some offensive life after the break behind Grace Sullivan, but Michigan State answered each push. A 3-pointer by Sara Sambolic and consecutive baskets from Jalyn Brown and VanSlooten helped stretch the lead to 94-60 midway through the fourth quarter, and late 3-pointers pushed the Spartans past the 100-point mark.
Kennedy Blair added 17 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals for Michigan State, and Brown finished with 15 points and five assists. Marah Dykstra provided 14 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers, and Sambolic scored 13 points with six assists. Michigan State recorded 29 assists on 39 made field goals.
Sullivan led Northwestern with 23 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Casey Harter added 14 points and six rebounds, and Caroline Lau contributed 10 assists, nine points and seven rebounds.
Up next
Northwestern: faces Illinois on Sunday.
Michigan State: travels to No. 23 Minnesota on Sunday.
STATE COLLEGE, Penn. (AP) — Tariq Francis had 22 points and seven assists, and Rutgers led the entire game in an 85-72 victory over Penn State on Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights' first road win of the season.
Francis scored 15 points to help the Scarlet Knights take a 39-20 halftime lead, its largest on the road in conference play since coach Steve Pikiell took over in 2016. Penn State did not make its first field goal until nearly seven minutes into the game, and finished with 10 first-half turnovers that Rutgers (11-15, 4-11 Big Ten) converted into 19 points. The Nittany Lions’ had their lowest-scoring first half of the season.
The Scarlet Knights pushed the advantage to 20 points early in the second half, but Penn State (11-16, 2-14) gradually chipped away. A 12-4 stretch helped the Nittany Lions cut the deficit to 67-56, and Josh Reed’s 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining pulled them within eight.
Francis responded with a 25-foot 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper on Rutgers’ next two possessions to halt the rally and restore a double-digit cushion.
Dylan Grant added 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting for Rutgers, and Harun Zrno scored 13 with three 3-pointers. Lino Mark provided 12 points off the bench as Rutgers shot 57% from the field and went 20 of 23 at the free-throw line.
Reed led Penn State with 22 points, while Kayden Mingo had 16 points and six assists. The Nittany Lions shot 55% from the field, but made 3 of 17 (18%) from beyond the arc.
LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 16: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver address the media prior to the 2025 Emirate NBA Cup Championship on December 16, 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There’s a plague passing through the National Basketball Association, and it’s not tanking.
Sure, the act of deliberately putting your team at a disadvantage in the hopes of improving draft odds is detrimental to the spirit of competition — when one of the teams doesn’t care to win, why should the fans? But the NBA isn’t anxious because ratings are low for Sacramento vs Washington.
What really makes Adam Silver sweat is the influence of hundreds of billions of dollars of market share owned by sports betting companies across the nation. Gambling and professional sports are becoming synonymous for an increasing number of viewers. Revenue drives the industry, and few companies can promise higher ad spend than a sportsbook these days. When money becomes the top priority, the suppliers wrestle control from the recipients, and we’re reaching a tipping point.
When money becomes the top priority, the suppliers wrestle control from the recipients, and we’re reaching a tipping point.
Tim Donaghy, a disgraced former referee whose involvement in gambling influenced the way that he officiated games, manipulated the results of his assignments to satiate sports betters. His scandal rocked the NBA, tainting history and calling into question the results of games he called in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
That was the wake-up call. When gambling and sports mingle, they mix. And the NBA understood this threat over 20 years ago.
“Sports gambling jeopardizes the integrity of the game,” Stern said in support of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. “As well as the loyalty of the fans.”
“Jeopardizes the integrity of the game”? That sounds familiar.
Bobby Marks:
"I think what Utah is doing right now is messing around with the integrity of the NBA" pic.twitter.com/7KBRrt2Auq
David Stern changed his tune in 2016 with the rising popularity of daily fantasy sports.
“Whatever barrier perhaps existed is gone,” Stern shared with ESPN, completing a remarkable 180-degree kickflip. “So, to me, if they’re going to be doing daily fantasy, you might as well legalize gambling.”
He continued sharing his vision for its gradual implementation, hoping its implementation would be universal in the next five to 10 years. Here we are, just shy of one decade later.
Per the Sports Business Journal, gambling companies spent $52.1 million on NBA advertising during the 2024-25 season, a 28.96% increase from the previous season.
Sports betting advertisements caught 1.93 billion household impressions through the ‘24-’25 season. Can you remember the last time you watched an NBA basketball game (or a U.S. professional sporting event at all) where your ad breaks weren’t bombarded with Kevin Hart sharing all the wonders of sports books? Where some Joe Schmoe’s life not radically improved thanks to the wonders of betting? Where a voiceover didn’t promise you free money when you sign up to Prize Picks, Draft Kings, FanDuel, MGM Bet, bet365, Caesar’s Sportsbook, Hard Rock Bet, Kalshi, etc.?
A recent report from Ben Golliver shared that gambling companies played a notable part in Adam Silver’s decision to punish the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for tanking.
“Over-unders are at stake […] player props are at stake.” Golliver shared on his podcast. “If coaches are just willy-nilly not playing guys the entire game, and they’re not letting people know in advance that they plan to do that, you’re going to have a lot of angry gamblers and a lot of angry gambling companies as well.”
With its spreading legalization, the public opinion of sports gambling and daily fantasy apps has become increasingly positive. We’re normalizing sports gambling in the United States. It’s no wonder that their will controls the NBA.
In a way, the NBA Draft Lottery is essentially gambling when you think about it. By tanking, teams buy up as many lottery tickets as they can get their hands on — hoping, praying that their number will be called and all their dreams will come true. They’ll have the best, shiniest young star and watch as their revenue skyrockets in the following season. AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson in Utah? It’ll be standing room only in the Delta Center. Pay no mind to the Scrooge McDuck indoor pool in the arena’s updated renovation plans.
Tanking should not be a part of the game, I’ll grant you that. But perhaps the order of operations shouldn’t begin with Lauri Markkanen’s playing time.
But when the act of tanking works against the interests of the gambling companies funding the NBA, Silver’s action indicated that his loyalties (and by extension, the NBA’s priorities) lie with the sportsbooks, not with the teams.
Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to manipulating gambling over/unders with his play. Terry Rozier has been arrested for similar accusations.
Chauncey Billups, the former head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, was arrested for his involvement in illegal mafia-tied gambling.
Just after the Bucks flirted with the NBA trade deadline in their annual will-they-or-won’t-they-trade-Giannis sweepstakes, Antetokounmpo announced a partnership with Kalshi, the app where you can bet on anything.
Yet it’s the Utah Jazz who receive the finger of blame for the hideous state of professional basketball today. Tanking should not be a part of the game, I’ll grant you that. But perhaps the order of operations shouldn’t begin with Lauri Markkanen’s playing time.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 12: Jusuf Nurkic #30 and Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz look on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 12, 2026 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The latest news in the Tank Wars comes from the Sacramento Kings, the cute little participant in the latest tank discussion. Today, in some moves that may not even change the outcome of games, the Kings announced that Domantas Sabonis will be out the rest of the season for left knee surgery.
BREAKING: Sacramento Kings three-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis will undergo season-ending left knee surgery, league sources tell me. He averaged 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds in 19 games this season. pic.twitter.com/p3UitkYkGH
There’s no doubt this needs to be done, but these surgeries for players seem like moves that need to be done “at some point,” and now is the time to do them, especially with losing being the best option.
It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing these things pop up for the Jazz, also. Jaren Jackson Jr. is already out for the season with his own knee surgery. But what can the Jazz do to make sure their own players miss some of these games to ensure they lose some of these games? The answer is short-term injuries. But what can those injuries be? And that’s today’s Queston of the Day. What are the injuries the Jazz need to use for their players who need to rest?
We may get some inspiration from the Pacers, who are using a lot of sprains, personal reasons, and soreness in their latest injury report.
Injury Report for tomorrow’s game in D.C.:
Micah Potter – Questionable (left ankle sprain) T.J. McConnell – Questionable (right hamstring soreness) Aaron Nesmith – Questionable (lumbar sprain) Pascal Siakam – Out (personal reasons) Ivica Zubac – Out (left ankle sprain) Johnny… pic.twitter.com/xwQDH97Vij
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 27: Nolan Gorman #16 and Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals leave the field during the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday, September 27, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by George Gaza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
While most are not predicting the St. Louis Cardinals will not be a playoff-caliber team in 2026, the upcoming season is full of compelling storylines including many players who have the most to gain (or lose). There are several players who have a lot on the line in 2026.
The St. Louis Cardinals with the most obvious high stakes for the 2026 season are Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. Both were given a lot of “runway” (there’s that word again) last season, but neither impressed with their results. I won’t say that it’s necessarily a last chance for either Gorman and/or Walker, but it would be hard to imagine the team moving forward with them if the 2026 results resemble what they didn’t accomplish in 2025.
JJ Wetherholt looks primed to possibly make the opening day roster for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026 barring a performance problem in Spring Training. I view JJ as only having something to gain by establishing himself as a part of the future St. Louis Cardinals core. Even if he performs below the potential rookie of the year level some are predicting, I think he’ll be allowed to have time to make the adjustments needed to be a centerpiece for the Cardinals for the foreseeable.
I think the one Cardinal who stands the most to gain financially is Dustin May. If he bounces back from his injuries and becomes a solid mid-rotation starter again, he’ll be a valuable free agent if he declines the mutual option after the season with the Cardinals. Depending on how the St. Louis season goes, he could also be a prime trade deadline candidate for a contender if the Cardinals aren’t.
Masyn Winn could be viewed as a player that stands a lot to gain in 2026. For the first time in a year or two, Masyn is expected to start the season healthy. If he adds more offensive pop to his gold glove defense, he has the opportunity to be considered for a valuable long-term extension if he doesn’t seek more wealth in the free agent market a few years from now.
Alec Burleson is another player that could gain elevated status on the roster if he backs up his Silver Slugger performance of 2025. He signed a one-year $3.3 million dollar deal with the Cardinals for 2026 to avoid arbitration and is set to become a free agent after the 2028 season. The 2026 season could lead to several outcomes for Alec. He could be a trade deadline target, an extension possibility for the Cardinals or cash in on a nice free agent deal a few years from now if his bat continues to improve.
Matthew Liberatore has the chance to establish himself as a top of the rotation starter if he takes his game to the next level during the upcoming season. Riley O’Brien could develop into one of the NL’s top closers with a great 2026 although the mild calf strain he’s experienced already during Spring Training isn’t a great start. I could go on and on as the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 season is nothing if not a fertile field for opportunities. Who on the St. Louis Cardinals roster do you think has the most to gain or lose in 2026? The possibilities are nearly endless.
TORONTO, ONTARIO - OCTOBER 13: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners hits a triple against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning in game two of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 13, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The offseason may be officially over, with the first slate of spring training games set to begin in just two days (!), but the Mariners aren’t done making moves, and they’ve brought back an old friend for at least the Cactus League.
There has been enough ink spilled about how Garver’s previous two years with Seattle didn’t live up to the expectations of his two-year, $24 million contract he was signed to on Christmas Eve 2023. After spending 2025 as Cal Raleigh’s backup, it was an easy call for the M’s to decline their end of his mutual option, despite a couple of fun moments in the postseason. Seattle brought aboard Andrew Knizner and Jhonny Pereda to round out the 40-man roster, and with the former being out of options, the Garv man looks to be on the outside looking in for the backup catcher gig.
That doesn’t mean he won’t get a good look this spring, though. With Cal Raleigh set to suit up for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Seattle will find itself in need of extra backstops for a good chunk of the Cactus League. Garver also has a leg up on the rest of the competition when it comes to familiarity with the Mariners’ pitching staff, with prominent hurlers like Andrés Muñoz and George Kirby previously citing his work with them as reasons for their success. While it’s currently unknown if his minor league deal contains an opt-out clause, it’s not out of the realm of possibility he sticks around with the Rainiers should he not break camp – after all, Tacoma needs catchers, too.
It’s a mild surprise that Mitch Garver couldn’t find a big league deal elsewhere. Despite his multi-year struggles, he was still a capable option against left-handed pitching, and settled in nicely as the second-string catcher after the plan of deploying him as a primary DH went off the rails. In any case, he’ll be a solid addition to the club’s catching depth for now, and his previous work with Seattle’s pitching corps could stand a decent chance at rubbing off on Knizner and Pereda.
PHOENIX — Bruce Meyer, the tenacious veteran litigator who has been the Major League Baseball Player Association’s lead negotiator, was voted unanimously Wednesday by the players to be their interim executive director, replacing Tony Clark.
Meyer, who was promoted to be the union’s deputy executive director in 2022, has been MLB’s public enemy since he joined the union in 2018. He frequently has clashed on even small agenda items with MLB, which has accused him of being bad for baseball.
Meyer, 64, is considered the union’s most fierce litigator since the days of Don Fehr and Gene Orza, and once again Wednesday expressed his deep resentment towards MLB’s hopes for a salary cap, believing that a lockout Dec. 1 is inevitable when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
“A lockout is all but guaranteed at the end of the agreement,’’ Meyer said Wednesday afternoon after meeting with the Chicago Cubs, and spending the morning with the Kansas City Royals. “The league has pretty much said that. Their strategy in bargaining has always been to put as much pressure on players as they can to try and create divisions and cracks among our membership.
“It never worked. I don’t think it will ever work.’’
Meyer, who said he will continue to be the lead negotiator, said that he and his staff have a duty to the players to listen to whatever MLB offers, but showed his disdain towards even entertaining a salary cap.
“Our position and the historic position of this union for decades on the salary cap is well known,’’ Meyer said. “It’s the ultimate restriction. It is something that owners in all the sports have wanted more than anything, and in baseball in particular. There’s a reason for that, because it’s good for them and not the players.’’
Meyer, even with the sudden resignation of Clark over an inappropriate relationship with a union employee, insisted Wednesday morning there is no disarray among the union ranks, and its resolve remains strong.
“I think anybody who's going to assume that and act on that,’’ Meyer said, “is really making a mistake. I'm not going to say (the timing of Clark’s resignation) is a great thing. This is unforeseen. There have been some issues hanging over (him), and in some respects, it's good to get them out of the way sooner rather than later.’’
Who is Bruce Meyer?
Meyer, while respected for his fierceness, does have his detractors. There was an attempt to remove him from the office two years ago, an effort led by attorney Harry Marino, who organized the efforts to have minor leaguers unionized. It failed when Clark came to Meyer’s defense.
The eight-person executive subcommittee pushed for Meyer to be voted as the executive director in their meeting Tuesday, but after pushback by at least three players on the call, no vote was taken. The larger group of 72 players, including player representatives from all 30 teams, decided to reconvene at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday after polling their own teammates. If Meyer didn’t receive enough support, they likely would have turned to Matt Nussbaum, the union’s general counsel who was promoted to interim deputy executive director, Meyer’s previous title.
Now, Meyer, who previously worked as a senior adviser at the NHL players union and was a partner at the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, will be running the whole show, much to MLB’s fear.
When the 99-day lockout ended in 2022, and the rank-and-file voted to accept MLB’s last proposal, Meyer sympathized with the executive council who wanted to continue negotiations, even if it meant losing games.
“Some players emerged from bargaining disappointed that we did not accomplish more,’’ Meyer said in a letter to players two years ago, “and in particular that we did not miss games to see if more gains could be made. To be clear, I sympathized and still do with these players and this position.’’
Meyer, who becomes the seventh executive director of the union, expects negotiations with MLB to begin in April on the next CBA, and just like the last round, tranquility will not be on anyone’s bingo card.
“I'd say I'm known as a tough litigator who also knows how to make deals when necessary,’’ Meyer said in a Q&A with the MLBPA newsletter. “In the sports area I've been involved in just about every type of issue, including labor, antitrust, licensing, collective bargaining and others. But the common thread is I have a passion for player advocacy and defending player rights.’’
Let the negotiations, with plenty of rancor, begin.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 13: Logan Webb #62 and Patrick Bailey #14 of the San Francisco Giants high-five during Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium on February 13, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cactus League is upon us! Baseball is here!
It’s an especially exciting time for San Francisco Giants fans. Not only do we get our first glimpse of how the team will perform under the leadership of trailblazing manager Tony Vitello, but we also get to see tons of exciting prospects in action. The Giants farm system is stronger than at any point in recent memory, and opportunities will be in abundance, given that the organization is sending a cavalry — including their entire starting outfield — to the World Baseball Classic.
Thankfully, preseason baseball is modernizing. Not only is every Cactus League stadium now equipped with Statcast gear, but there are more televised games that starved-for-baseball Giants fans have grown accustomed to. So here’s the complete schedule for the preseason, with dates, times, and, most importantly, TV schedules. Some of the games listed as being broadcast by the Giants will be available to those with access to NBC Sports Bay Area, while others will be a webcast online. The games broadcast by the opposing team can be watched on MLB TV (subscription required, with exceptions noted) or, depending on the broadcast, online.
So here it is, friends! All the baseball!
Saturday, February 21at Mariners(Peoria)
12:10 p.m. PT
Mariners webcast (free on MLB TV)
Mariners radio
Sunday, February 22 vs. Cubs (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
Giants webcast
Giants radio
Monday, February 23 vs. Athletics (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and A’s radio
Tuesday, February 24 at Angels split squad (Tempe)
12:10 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Angels radio
Wednesday, February 25 at Brewers (Phoenix)
12:10 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Brewers radio
Thursday, February 26 vs. Rockies (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants radio
Friday, February 27 vs. Dodgers (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
Dodgers TV broadcast and Giants webcast
Giants and Dodgers radio
Saturday, February 28 at Athletics (Mesa)
12:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and A’s radio
Sunday, March 1 vs. Padres (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
Giants webcast
Giants and Padres radio
Monday, March 2 at White Sox (Phoenix)
12:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and White Sox radio
Tuesday, March 3 vs. Team USA (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
ESPN broadcast
Giants radio
Wednesday, March 4 vs. Mariners (Scottsdale)
6:05 p.m. PT
Giants and Mariners TV broadcast
Mariners radio
Friday, March 6 vs. Reds (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Reds radio
Saturday, March 7 split squad vs. Rangers (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
Giants TV broadcast
Giants and Rangers radio
Saturday, March 7 split squad at Diamondbacks (Scottsdale)
12:10 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
D-Backs radio
Sunday, March 8 at Cubs (Mesa)
1:05 p.m. PT
Cubs TV broadcast
Giants and Cubs radio
Monday, March 9 vs. Angels (Scottsdale)
1:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Angels radio
Tuesday, March 10 at Guardians (Goodyear)
1:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Guardians radio
Wednesday, March 11 at Royals split squad (Surprise)
1:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Royals radio
Thursday, March 12 vs. White Sox (Scottsdale)
6:05 p.m. PT
Giants TV broadcast
No radio
Friday, March 13 split squad vs. Reds split squad (Scottsdale)
4:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants radio
Friday, March 13 split squad at Reds split squad (Goodyear)
6:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Reds radio
Saturday, March 14 vs. Diamondbacks (Scottsdale)
1:05 p.m. PT
Giants TV broadcast
Giants and D-Backs radio
Sunday, March 15 vs. Brewers (Scottsdale)
1:05 p.m. PT
Giants webcast
Giants and Brewers radio
Monday, March 16 at Padres (Peoria)
1:10 p.m. PT
Padres TV broadcast
Giants and Padres radio
Wednesday, March 18 at Dodgers (Phoenix)
1:05 p.m. PT
Dodgers TV broadcast
Giants and Dodgers radio
Thursday, March 19 Spring Breakout: Giants prospects vs. Reds prospects (Scottsdale)
1:05 p.m. PT
MLB.com broadcast (not yet announced, but likely)
No radio
Thursday, March 19 at Rockies (Scottsdale)
1:10 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
No radio
Friday, March 20 split squad at Rangers (Surprise)
5:05 p.m. PT
Rangers TV broadcast
Rangers radio
Friday, March 20 split squad vs. Royals (Scottsdale)
5:05 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants and Royals radio
Saturday, March 21 vs. Guardians (Scottsdale)
12:05 p.m. PT
Giants webcast
Giants radio
Sunday, March 22 at River Cats [Giants AAA affiliate] (Sacramento)
5:07 p.m. PT
No TV broadcast
Giants radio
Monday, March 23 vs. Sultanes [Mexican League] (San Francisco)
6:45 p.m. PT
Giants TV broadcast
Giants radio
Tuesday, March 24 vs. Sultanes [Mexican League] (San Francisco)
6:45 p.m. PT
Giants TV broadcast
Giants radio
And then it’s off to the races! Less than 24 hours after that final exhibition against Sultanes, the Giants will be hosting the New York Yankees in the first game of the 2026 MLB season.
As always, the broadcast and radio schedule can change. I’ll try to update this article as it does.
The Sydney Thunder have parted ways with coach Trevor Bayliss after a disappointing Big Bash League campaign where the club received the dreaded wooden spoon for a record sixth time.
NEW YORK — A scheduled spring fraud trial for two Cleveland Guardians pitchers accused of colluding with sports bettors to rig bets and betray “America’s pastime” will likely be postponed until October, a federal judge said Wednesday as the men pleaded not guilty to a rewritten indictment.
Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto left a May 4 trial date on the books for now, but indicated she’ll probably move it to the fall in the coming weeks.
Pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, speaking Spanish, entered not guilty pleas through a translator to a rewritten indictment in Brooklyn federal court.
No new charges were in the superseding indictment unsealed on Friday, as prosecutors charged a third individual with serving as a middleman between bettors and Clase. That person also pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
The pitchers were first charged in November with accepting several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 by placing more than 100 in-game prop bets and parlays on the speed and the outcome of certain pitches. Charges include wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests.
The rewritten indictment released Friday added allegations that Clase used code words like “rooster” and “chicken” in communications about pitches to be thrown.
Prior to a May 18, 2025, game against the Cincinnati Reds, Clase received a message to “throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight” and responded with: “Yes, of course, that’s an easy toss to that rooster,” the indictment said. However, Clase never entered the game and could not fulfill the plan to throw outside the strike zone to the first batter he faced, it added.
A day earlier, though, Clase broke Major League Baseball rules by using his cellphone in the middle of a game against the Reds to signal to gamblers that a pitch would be outside the strike zone, enabling them to win about $27,000, the indictment said.
Clase, the Guardians’ former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July. Their teammates are just starting training camp for the new season. The team’s home opener is April 3.
Clase and Ortiz, who are free on bail, left the courthouse separately after Wednesday’s hearing. Neither commented. Lawyers for both men have insisted their clients never colluded with gamblers.
Lawyers for Ortiz have asked that he be tried separately, saying in court papers that if Clase passed along Ortiz’s pitching strategy to gamblers, he did so without Ortiz’s knowledge. They also noted that Ortiz is accused of throwing only two pitches that drew scrutiny over a 12-day span, while Clase is charged with colluding with gamblers on numerous pitches since 2023.
“Mr. Clase may have abused his relationship with Mr. Ortiz as friends and teammates by convincing Mr. Ortiz to throw certain pitches at certain times — ostensibly for baseball reasons as far as Mr. Ortiz was aware,” the lawyers wrote.
They said they might present a defense to the jury that would cast “Ortiz as a victim of Mr. Clase’s scheme, rather than a knowing and willing participant.”
Clase, a three-time All-Star, had a $4.5 million salary in 2025, the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract. Prosecutors say he started providing bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 but didn’t seek payoffs until last year.
Prosecutors have said that Ortiz, who had a $782,600 salary last season, joined the scheme last June.
The Guardians and Major League Baseball have said they are cooperating with the investigation. MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating unusual betting activity.
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Atlanta Braves right-handed starter Spencer Schwellenbach had surgery Wednesday to clean up “loose bodies” in his elbow, and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep is scheduled to undergo a similar procedure next week.
While the Braves didn’t reveal a timeline for when the pitchers could be available, manager Walt Weiss told reporters Wednesday that he is hopeful that both will be able to pitch this season.
Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list on Feb. 10, at the start of spring training, because of inflammation in his right elbow. The 25-year-old was 7-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 17 starts last year before missing the final three months of the season because of a broken right elbow.
Waldrep, the Braves’ first-round pick out of Florida in the 2023 amateur draft, experienced discomfort after throwing batting practice over the weekend. An MRI showed no ligament damage for the pitcher who turns 24 on March 1.
Before getting hurt last season, Schwellenbach was 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA over his final 10 starts, with the Braves winning eight of those games. He had 71 strikeouts and 11 walks in 69 1/3 innings over that stretch. His big league debut came in 2024, when he was 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts.
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 2: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a three point basket as Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Miami Heat plays defense during the game on November 2, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers are looking at an offseason with a ton of cap space and a handful of roster spots available, but how are they going to use these resources to build a winner around Luka Dončić?
They are flirting with being a top-four team in the Western Conference, but to truly be a contender, they need a productive summer that brings in the right players.
Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the biggest player that could be on the market. The Lakers are reportedly expected to make a “hard push” at Giannis if he becomes available, but what if he doesn’t come to LA?
An unrestricted free agent who has been discussed internally, sources told ESPN, is Andrew Wiggins, but he has a player option with Miami he could exercise. Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes and Dean Wade are other players who fit that profile.
The Lakers have also privately discussed restricted free agents Tari Eason and Peyton Watson, sources told ESPN, and could land the latter if Denver, which already has $215 million in salary committed to returning players for next season, doesn’t match the offer sheet.
Wiggins has been linked to the Lakers since last summer. Back then, it was reported that the Heat’s asking price was too high, and Wiggins stayed in Miami.
The draw Wiggins has is clear, he’s a wing that can give the team another scoring option on the perimeter. Wiggins is averaging 15.9 points and shooting 39% from 3-point range. The issue, as McMenamin states in his article, is that Wiggins can opt into his player option, making it harder to acquire him.
A player the Lakers can pursue without any friction is Tobias Harris. He’s an unrestricted free agent, and his 13.4 points per game would be an upgrade at the wing position.
With other names currently being mentioned, such as Quentin Grimes and Peyton Watson, it’s clear the Lakers are in pursuit of some improved wing depth.
The offseason is the next chance they’ll have to upgrade that position or chase for a superstar like Giannis, so all eyes will be on the Lakers’ front office to see if they can get the job done and make LA the team to beat in the NBA again.
CHICAGO - MAY 15: Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, picks out a ping pong ball during the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery at the Palmer House Hotel on May 15, 2018 in Chicago Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There is one conversation dominating NBA headlines right now, and thankfully, the Phoenix Suns are nowhere near it. They are safely outside the noise for two very simple reasons.
First, this team is competitive. Not pretend competitive, not vibes competitive, but legitimately playing games that matter with a real path to the postseason. And maybe even a path that skips the Play-In entirely, which felt unrealistic when the season tipped off. They have surprised in a way that buys you meaningful basketball in April, and that alone changes the temperature around a franchise.
Second, the Suns are not part of this conversation because they do not have draft picks to weaponize. Whatever picks exist are tied to past decisions, past swings, past bets on players who are no longer here. You either compete or you waste a season, and Phoenix chose the former.
The conversation everyone else is having is tanking.
Players sitting in competitive games. Rotations are getting weird. Injuries are stretching a little longer than necessary. Entire franchises quietly shifting their posture from trying to win to trying to lose with purpose. It is one of those topics that lives perfectly in bar conversations or office debates, the kind where everyone suddenly has a solution. How do you fix tanking? How do you punish it? How do you make losing hurt more than winning helps?
I have heard plenty of ideas. Remove protections entirely. Create a tournament for the bottom teams where the prize is the top pick. Penalize teams financially the following season if they are clearly gaming the system. Some of them are creative. Some of them are fun.
@NBA Fix tanking by awarding teams who compete, rather than losing. -Draft lottery made up of 12 teams. 8 who lose in the first round of the playoffs and the 4 that lose the play in. – Each with equal chance at the first pick. -teams who miss playoffs are picks 13-22 by record.
None of them really move me. Okay, maybe the example above, because it incentivizes winning versus losing. But honestly? I do not care.
Tanking is almost unavoidable, and it is unavoidable for one very simple reason. The draft exists to distribute talent across the league. That is its purpose. If you are bad and you want to get better, the fastest and most realistic path is the draft. You add young talent. You hope it grows into something real. You hope it becomes a cornerstone. And the only way to consistently access the top tier of that talent pool is to be near the bottom.
Until the fundamental idea of what the draft represents changes, all the surface-level tweaks in the world are not going to solve much. You can shuffle odds. You can add incentives. You can dress it up in new language. Teams will still find a way to position themselves for the best chance at the best players. That is not corruption, it’s logic.
The Suns are fortunate to be operating in a different lane right now. They are chasing wins, not probabilities. They are playing games with consequence. And in a league where so many teams are already thinking about June, that is a place worth appreciating.
The Suns are not immune to this either, though. We lived it. We spent a decade squinting at injury reports, wondering what was really wrong with T.J. Warren’s neck, wondering why Devin Booker was sitting on a random March night when he looked perfectly fine two days earlier. We all knew the answer, even if we pretended we didn’t. The organization was trying to be less competitive at the end of the season in order to improve draft position. That was the plan, that was the play, and it was not unique to Phoenix.
This happens everywhere, across every major sport. In Major League Baseball, once a team realizes October is not happening, September turns into a parade of call-ups, auditions disguised as games, futures being prioritized over present results. Do you know how many fantasy baseball seasons have been derailed because I had a guy who launches dingers, but he’s on the Pirates or Rockies?! I’ve learned my lesson. Mostly.
In the NFL, the final two weeks for bad teams become a showcase for backups, not because coaches suddenly love depth charts, but because organizations are protecting assets and thinking long term. Nobody loses their mind over it. It is understood as part of the ecosystem.
So why does the NBA always catch the heat?
It starts with timing. The spotlight is brightest on the league right when tanking becomes most visible. Football is finished. Baseball has not started. The NBA owns February and March. And because of how the season is structured, because of the sheer number of games and when the calendar flips, teams often know by that point that the postseason is not in their future. When that realization sets in, priorities shift. Development matters more. Health matters more. Next year starts creeping into the room.
That is also the exact moment when casual fans and national voices start paying closer attention. And what they see is a diminished product. Players are sitting, rotations are changing, and outcomes feel preordained. The league does not condone it publicly, but it has also done a poor job of managing the optics. Whether that comes down to an 82-game season, the calendar start, or the way incentives are aligned, the result is always the same. Right when the NBA has the stage to itself, the cracks become visible.
And then we do the dance. Same cycle every year. Same outrage. Same proposals. Same debates on how to fix something that is not really broken, it is functioning exactly as designed.
NBA twitter has spent so much time talking tanking and draft this week. Tanking sucks. Tanking is smart. We all know it. Please talk about basketball. pic.twitter.com/xFO6T2zjnR
In my opinion, there is no true fix. Not without fundamentally changing what the draft represents and why teams value it. Until that happens, this will keep looping, season after season, argument after argument, while the teams that have something to play for keep playing and the rest start quietly looking ahead.
Teams are always going to prioritize long-term possibilities over short-term competitiveness, especially when the math tells them that sacrificing now gives them a better chance to be something later. That part is inevitable. My real issue with tanking has always lived in one place, and that place is the fans, because they are the ones who ultimately pay the price. Literally.
If you are a season ticket holder and your team tanks one year in an effort to secure a better draft pick, then comes back the next season and still isn’t any good, there is no refund waiting for you. The league is not cutting you a check. The team is not knocking 20% off your invoice because they decided to roll out a lineup full of G League-level talent while preaching patience and development. You paid full price for a diminished product, and that is the part of this equation that never really gets discussed. Or at least not enough.
That is why tanking feels unfortunate, even when you understand it. On the surface, the logic tracks. If you are bad and you want a chance to stop being bad, you often have to lean into being bad long enough to draft someone who can change your trajectory. It is the natural order of how this league is built. You can workshop a million ideas on how to fix it, flatten the lottery odds, create tournaments, punish cap sheets, tweak incentives, but someone will always find the seam. Someone will always locate the weakness and exploit it, because that is human nature.
I have seen this play out countless times outside of sports. In the hospitality world, I cannot tell you how many processes I have helped put in place, well-intentioned, thoughtful, designed to create fairness, only to watch guests immediately search for ways around them. Everybody loves rules in theory. Everybody supports structure and order right up until it inconveniences them personally. Then it becomes negotiable.
That is the space tanking lives in. It makes sense from the top down. It is defensible from an organizational standpoint. But from the seat in the arena, from the fan who keeps showing up, keeps paying, keeps caring, it feels like a tax with no return policy. And that is the part that will always sit a little sideways with me, no matter how logical the strategy might be.
But again, it is the fan, the person who simply wants to enjoy the product, who ultimately pays the price. And in my opinion, that is the one place where there is an actual fix, even if it is the hardest one to pull off.
Why the NBA should embrace tanking –
The NBA has kate been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way that way.
When I got into the nba, they thought they were in the basketball business. They…
Teams and organizations are businesses. Full stop. They exist to make money, just like any other business. And this is where short-term greed starts tripping over long-term greed. The short-term play is obvious. Maximize revenue, fill out the balance sheet. Walk into the boardroom and say, “Look, we might be bad on the court, but the numbers still look good”. Tickets sold. Sponsorships intact. Revenue streams humming along.
But if you actually want loyalty, real loyalty, not the fragile kind that disappears the moment expectations aren’t met, you give something back. You refund a prorated portion of season tickets during a tanking year. You lower prices so the building stays full even when the wins aren’t coming. You admit what the season is, instead of selling hope as a finished product. And the byproduct of that honesty is still revenue. People show up. They buy food. They buy drinks. They buy merchandise. They bring their kids. They stay emotionally invested instead of feeling taken advantage of.
That is where it gets interesting with the Phoenix Suns, if and when a tanking season ever arrives. A real one. One where they actually control their first round pick and decide that short-term pain is necessary to reset the trajectory of the franchise.
Because what Mat Ishbia has shown in a very short amount of time is that he cares about the fan experience. He cares about access. He cares about the relationship between the team and the community. And he has proven he is not afraid to do things that go against the grain. We have seen it with the value menu. We have seen it with free local broadcasts. We have literally seen him buy antennas so fans can watch games. That is not normal ownership behavior. That is someone who understands that if you make fans feel included in the process, the long-term payoff is far greater than squeezing every last dollar out of a down year.
So if the Suns ever reach a point where tanking becomes the path forward, Ishbia would have a rare opportunity. He could be a trendsetter. He could be the owner who says, “This season didn’t meet the standard, and we’re not going to ask you to pay full freight for something we know isn’t complete yet. We’re going to eat some of that cost, not you”. And in doing so, he would likely gain a level of trust that most franchises never touch.
Because if you want a fan base to understand a tank, to actually get behind it instead of resenting it, that is how you do it. Until something like that happens, tanking will always exist. These conversations will keep cycling. The league will keep pretending there is a fix just around the corner. And the truth will remain the same as it has always been.
Until someone gives back some money, which I think we all know will never happen, we’ll continue to have these circular conversations until the playoffs start. And then? No one gives a shit until next Febraury.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MAY 15: Joe Ross #41 of the Washington Nationals delivers a first inning pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 15, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I was about to say we finished with the pitchers, but since our previous installment, the D-backs added a couple of further players on minor-league contracts, with spring training invites. While they don’t yet appear on the team’s official page of non-roster invitees, I figure I should catch up with these before I forget, and we’ll then move on to the catchers who are NRIs.
Joe Ross
This right-handed pitcher was a first-round pick (25th overall) by the Padres back in 2011, and comes with more than 500 innings at the MLB level, acquired across eight seasons. He also had a World Series ring, won in 2019 with the Nationals Last year, he was with the Phillies and made 37 appearances with a 5.12 ERA and a K:BB of 39:18 across 51 innings, before being released by them in late August. That’s not especially impressive, so I feel like he is going to be depth in Reno this year, unless he really impresses in Spring Training. He has had his career interrupted by various injuries, including a pair of Tommy John procedures, but seemed healthy enough in 2025.
Oscar Mercado
Though born in Venezuela, Mercado was part of the MLB draft, being picked in 2011 by the Cardinals. He was subsequently traded to the Indians, and debuted for them is 2019, with a solid campaign which got some down-ballot Rookie of the Year acknowledgment. But it has been a replacement-level struggle since, and he hasn’t appeared in the majors since July 2023, back with the Cardinals. He spent last year in Triple- A with the Phillies, where he had a line of .249/.369/.373 for a .741 OPS across 115 games. Mercado turned 31 in December,but given the shortage of outfielders on the 40-man roster, I don’t mind seeing
And now, onto the catchers.
Aramis Garcia (35)
That name might be vaguely familiar. He did appear for the Diamondbacks last year, but very much in a “blink and you’ll miss it capacity,” being selected, making a single appearance and then being designated for assignment twice in the month of June. The team then signed James McCann as a better backup, and Garcia stayed in Triple-A the rest of the way. There, he was the Reno Aces most regular catcher, appearing in 56 games there. He re-signed with Arizona in November, and will likely remain in a similar position of emergency catcher, tucked away behind a plate of glass in Reno, with a hammer conveniently to hand.
Canadian alert! Logan was born in the wonderfully-named Medicine Hat, and was a ninth-round pick by the D-backs in 2022. He racked up the frequent flyer miles in 2025, changing levels four times between mid-June and mid-August. He initially bypassed Double-A, jumping straight from High-A to Triple A not once, but twice, before ending the season in Amarillo. Across all three levels the catcher, who turned 26 last month, posted a .754 OPS, and hit eight home-runs in 65 games, including the grand-slam above for Reno. He’ll likely start the year again in Amarillo, with the aim of getting a more permanent promotion by the end of the year.
Matt O’Neill (66)
This will be O’Neill’s first year outside the Mets organization, which originally selected him in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Last year, Matt split time between Double-A and Triple-A, with an overall line of .231/.335/.343 for an OPS of .678. That’s actually his highest figure since the year he was drafted, and it’s very unlikely he is going to see major-league playing time this year. If he does, a lot has gone very wrong for Arizona. But the news that Adrian Del Castillo is struggling with a calf injury, and is likely to miss Opening Day, does emphasize the importance of depth at this position.
