Author: NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The France men’s basketball team defeated Slovenia, 92-67 yesterday in Paris at Accor Arena. The Washington Wizards have Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr as part of the pipeline. They were not named for the roster yesterday however. Sarr is recovering from foot surgery earlier this offseason, but he should be ready to go this fall.

As one of the top teams in the world, France should easily make the FIBA World Cup next year. Hopefully, we’ll also see Sarr and Coulibaly playing for Les Bleus as well when the World Cup happens.

Earlier this month, the Detroit Red Wings announced their promotional schedule for the 2026-27 season, packed with giveaways and theme nights designed to give fans plenty of reasons to head down to Little Caesars Arena for the franchise's 101st season.

Familiar fan favorites are returning, including Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve and New Year's Eve games, Star Wars Night, Heritage Games, College Games and three separate Kids Day contests.

Among the new additions, the headline giveaway will almost certainly be the 2002 Stanley Cup 25th Anniversary Bobblehead Series, featuring Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Scotty Bowman. Other new giveaways include Salt and Pepper Shakers around Thanksgiving and a nod to Moritz Seider's German heritage with a Seider-themed beer stein.

College Night ticket packages will let fans represent their alma mater alongside the Red Wings, with participating schools including several notable around the state like Ferris State, Detroit Mercy, Michigan Tech, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Michigan among others.

Heritage nights make up a huge chunk of this year's giveaway slate, and the Red Wings are covering a lot of ground. Fans can look forward to shirseys honoring Canadian, Hispanic, Chaldean, Polish on Hockey Fights Cancer Night, Albanian, Greek, Italian, Swedish, Filipino, French, and Irish Heritage on participating nights.

Detroit Red Wings announce 2026-27 theme games and promotional schedule | Detroit Red Wings- Single-game tickets on sale Aug. 4, presale access available at DetroitRedWings.com/Tickets - Fan-favorite theme nights return, including Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve and New Year’s Eve, Star Wars Night, Heritage Games, College Games and three Kids Days - Door giveaways include 2002 Stanley Cup 25th Anniversary Bobblehead Series, featuring Sergei Fedorov,

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.

Beyond heritage nights, there's also a Star Wars Night shirsey, a Grateful Dead shirsey, Hometown Heroes shirseys honoring police officers and fire/EMS personnel, a Military Appreciation Night shirsey, and a Faith Day shirt presented by The Walk.

The Red Wings are also leaning into a full "Build-Your-Own-Fit" series this season, letting fans piece together a look one giveaway at a time. That includes a Build-Your-Own-Fit crewneck, sweatpants, socks, a vest, and a hat, giving dedicated fans the chance to collect an entire wardrobe over the course of the season if they hit enough games.

Rounding out the schedule is a wide mix of specialty items, including a Sisterhood hat, a Love Your Melon beanie, a Winged Wheel Podcast beanie along with a separate Winged Wheel Podcast item later in the year, the classic Zamboni gravy boat making its return, a Margaritaville tote bag, and Pride Night and Weekend tumblers. 

Fans supporting community causes will also see two separate Educator Appreciation lunch box nights and two Healthcare Appreciation tote bag nights throughout the year, along with a Red Wings ugly sweater giveaway around the holidays.

It's shaping up to be a packed slate of theme nights and giveaways at LCA this season, one that should give Red Wings fans plenty of reasons to come out to the rink no matter the night.

Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

As the FIBA World Cup break looms, the WNBA’s playoff picture is looking a lot clearer.

We know who will be playing in the postseason now that all eight teams have clinched their spots. However, seeding is still very much up for grabs.

Only three games separate the No. 3 seed and the No. 8 seed, so which teams will have homecourt in the opening round and beyond is still unknown. Here is an overview of the current playoff outlook for each team, with every team having about five games left to play.

No. 1-seed Minnesota Lynx (31-8)

The Minnesota Lynx are sitting pretty as the top seed. They are three games in front of the No. 2-seed Golden State Valkyries, and considering that they won the season series, only an utter collapse will have them falling in the standings.

Minnesota is right where they want to be: in complete control of their destiny.

No. 2-seed Golden State Valkyries (28-11)

The Valkyries might not catch the Lynx, but they have to keep playing to win.

The Las Vegas Aces are right behind them, just two games back in the standings. Since they lost all three matchups against Las Vegas, the Aces own the tiebreaker. So, the Valkyries need a couple more wins to lock up the second-best record in the WNBA.

No. 3-seed Las Vegas Aces (26-13)

Here is where things start to get interesting.

The Aces are just a half game ahead of the Atlanta Dream and a full game in front of the Indiana Fever. Even with just five games left, that leaves plenty of possibilities.

Las Vegas owns the tiebreaker over the Dream, but they lost the season series against the Fever. Luckily, they have the easiest schedule in the WNBA, giving them an advantage as they try to maintain their position.

However, the season-ending injury to NaLyssa Smith could result in the Aces experiencing more challenges than their strength of schedule suggests.

No. 4-seed Atlanta Dream (25-13)

The Dream have had a very good year. Head coach Karl Smesko has his team on track for another season with a better than 60-percent winning percentage. They are hanging on to the No. 4 spot, just a half game in front of the Fever.

Atlanta and Indiana split their head-to-head matchups, and they are currently neck and neck on the next tiebreaker, which is the best record against teams with a record over .500.

The Dream are 11-11 and the Fever are 10-12 against winning teams, so the team that will end up with the fourth seed will likely come down to the last weekend of the WNBA season.

No. 5-seed Indiana Fever (25-14)

The Fever have the firepower to win it all. But, they need to stack up some victories to be in position to do it.

That’s not going to be easy for Indiana because they have so many matchups left against playoff opponents. They play the Lynx twice and face the Washington Mystics, New York Liberty and Dallas Wings.

If they are truly title contenders, then they’ll win more than they lose and will stay at the No. 5 spot, and perhaps even jump up in the standings.

No. 6-seed Washington Mystics (24-15)

The Mystics have been the pleasant surprise of the year. Their youth movement is ahead of schedule, and they’ll be competing in the playoffs this year instead of tanking for a draft pick.

They are only a game ahead of the Wings and Liberty, so they could still drop down to eighth if they have a bad ending to the regular season. Regardless, it’s been a good year in Washington, and they are playing with house money.

There is no pressure at this point, and whatever happens will be a good learning experience for the Mystics as their rebuild is going better than anyone, even if the organization itself, could have envisioned.

No. 7-seed Dallas Wings (23-16)

The Wings have been up and down lately. While they’ve won three-straight games, they’re 5-5 over their last 10 contests, and with Azzi Fudd out for the rest of the year, it’s hard to see how they can make a jump in the standings.

However, with Paige Bueckers, all things are possible. Dallas is just a game behind the Mystics, so there is hope they can avoid the bottom two playoff spots.

No. 8-seed New York Liberty (23-16)

The Liberty’s entire year has been a struggle.

They were supposed to take a step forward, and they’ve done the opposite. Unless they dominate their remaining schedule, they’ll finish with their worst winning percentage since 2022.

The good news is they’re in the playoffs. Also, with five games left, a strong finish could push them as high as the No. 4 seed. It’s unlikely they’ll end up that high, but they can finish better than they currently stand.

---

Despite all eight teams securing their spot, just getting in isn’t the only thing that matters.

Last year, the only lower seed to win in the first round was the No. 6-seed Fever. Homecourt advantage is incredibly value, so every team needs to try to set themselves up for success. When the World Cup break ends, there will be just one week of WNBA regular-season action for these eight teams to improve their playoff position, or put themselves at risk of an early postseason exit.

Jump in the comments and let us know how you think the playoff seeds will shake out.

The 2026-27 Kentucky Basketball schedule has been released.

Thanks to the NCAA’s change to preseason exhibition contests, Kentucky will play three Division I teams before regular-season play begins, all being at Rupp Arena. Following Big Blue Madness on October 2, the Wildcats play their first exhibition foe on October 16 vs. Little Rock, led by former Kentucky great Travis Ford.

On October 23, Kentucky will play host to Texas Tech. Then on October 28, they’ll host UCF.

After that, the real fun begins for the Wildcats.

The regular season tips off on November 3rd when Kentucky hosts the Manhattan Jaspers inside Rupp Arena, officially beginning Year 3 of the Mark Pope era.

After a November 6th clash with the James Madison Dukes, the Wildcats get their first major test of the season when they face the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2026 Champions Classic, which takes place at the United Center in Chicago on November 10th

Kentucky’s next major test comes November 20th vs. the Indiana Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This will be the second meeting of the two schools’ new series, which currently runs through the 2028-29 season.

The Wildcats then return home to host Wichita State on November 27, bringing up memories of the program’s two memorable NCAA Tournament matchups in 2014 and 2017.

A challenging December slate will begin with Kentucky hitting the road to face a potential top-10 Virginia Cavaliers team in Charlottesville.

The annual Bluegrass rivalry game happens on December 12th when Kentucky plays host to another top-25 squad, the Louisville Cardinals.

The annual CBS Sports Classic tips off December 19th at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Kentucky facing the North Carolina Tar Heels and new head coach Mike Malone.

SEC play gets started on January 2nd against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, followed by the SEC home opener vs. the Ole Miss Rebels. 

The Wildcats end regular-season play in Gainesville on March 6th vs. the Florida Gators, the likely preseason No. 1 team.

The following week, SEC Tournament play runs from March 10-14 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Then comes the 2027 NCAA Tournament, which Kentucky hopes will be a special one for what could be a preseason top-15 Wildcat squad.

So, what are your thoughts on the 2026-27 Kentucky Wildcats schedule? Sound off in the comments section!

2026-27 Kentucky Basketball Schedule

Need more A Sea Of Blue coverage? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and views, then add us to your “Preferred Sources” on Google. Check out our friends at Bleav in Kentucky for everything you need to know about the Cats packed into weekly podcasts. And as always, Go CATS!

In case you missed it, the NCAA approved uniform jesey patches for Division 1 sports back in January. As the college football season has been spooling up, you might have noticed one school or another announcing their jersey patch. For example, Wisconsin has partnered with Culver’s for football, men’s basketball, and men’s hockey. Probably means that everyone’s favorite purveyors of butter burgers and frozen custard is off the table as a patch option for Marquette, huh?

In fact, Marquette hasn’t announced a jersey patch sponsor yet. This isn’t a blog about that fact, I came to the conclusion that if MU was going to debut a patch for only men’s basketball, that announcement was going to come at the very least after the fall semester started (that’s still not until Monday) and probably much closer to the start of basketball season in November. If there’s not a department-wide patch sponsor — Notre Dame has an all-sports deal with SoFi, for example — then there’s no reason to announce anything before the women’s soccer season got the 2026-27 athletic calendar going back on August 12th.

All of this brings me to Thursday’s newsletter from Matt Brown over at Extra Points. I’m a proud Day 1 subscriber to Extra Points, and Matt’s writing helps me contextualize a lot of things going on in college athletics. As you can probably tell, I don’t usually use his newsletters to generate ideas over here, but this one made me start thinking, and here we are. The topic from Thursday?

Why DePaul’s jersey patch deal with Desert Cactus could pay off in multiple ways

Yep, DePaul has a jersey patch deal. According to the Extra Points Jersey Patch Tracker, it’s only for men’s basketball, but it’s also currently the only announced jersey patch in the entire Big East. The Blue Demons are leading the way in this department, getting out ahead of not just Marquette, but also UConn and St. John’s, two of the more successful men’s basketball programs in the country over the past couple of seasons.

This isn’t a new announcement, either. DePaul announced the partnership back in mid-July, so they were first to market in that regard by a wiiiiiide margin as no one else has joined them yet. Because I know you’re asking about Desert Cactus:

Desert Cactus is a Rolling Meadows, Illinois-based licensing company that designs and distributes officially licensed merchandise for 650+ colleges and universities, professional sports leagues, and pop culture brands. Since 2012, we’ve built long-term partnerships with consumers and organizations that trust us to create high-quality, on-brand products at scale.

From flags and headwear to stickers, keychains, and party supplies, Desert Cactus produces a wide range of custom, on-brand products for the organizations we partner with. Every item starts with an official license, giving retailers and fans confidence that what they’re buying is authentic. We also work directly with teams, schools, and brands on custom designs, low minimum order quantities, and quick turnaround times which is outlined in more detail on our wholesale page. It’s part of how we keep every order, big or small, moving quickly without sacrificing quality.

Matt got a chance to talk to both DePaul Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy and Desert Cactus president and founder Joe Stefani about their partnership, and I’m going to cherry pick a couple of quotes along the way here that are going to make my point for me here:

The majority of Big East schools don’t actually have a staffer just dedicated to handling licensing. But DePaul bucked the trend by hiring Lindsay Martin away from Big East peer Butler to become the department’s senior associate athletics director for merchandise and licensing back in 2021.

And:

“This is not just branding; this is a testing ground for us. That’s really, really important. Testing different ideas, trying new products, new packaging and new pricing. … Essentially, this is one giant focus group for us. It’s been awesome.” Stefani said.

Here’s a concrete example: Next week, DePaul will host the powerhouse Nebraska Cornhusker women’s volleyball team ahead of a series of matches at Wrigley Field.

Stefani told me, “I went to Lindsay, and I said, ‘I think we need to do co-branded merchandise for when Nebraska volleyball comes to play DePaul at Wintrust Arena.’ Usually a retailer will not take a chance on that in venue, but I said, ‘hey, we’ll do it on consignment.’

“We’ll do it for free. If it doesn’t sell, I’ll eat it. But I at least want to see if it’s going to work or not. Let’s try posters and keychains and stickers and stuff. So it’s things like that that we’re willing to take the risk and try it. Because if it does work, now we can take that lesson and apply it to other schools.”

And:

Essentially, if the partnership is successful, DePaul gets paid twice. Once via the original sponsorship fee and then again as university licensing revenue increases. And then Blue Demon fans benefit too, since they’ll be able to buy new stuff, and in more locations than before.

And:

Beyond just cash, products and shared expertise, Stefani told me, the company also wants to hire DePaul students for paid internships to assist with graphic and product design projects. “We’ve done this before with some of our HBCU partners, like Jackson State, and the students helped create some of our best-selling products,” he said.

Now, let’s go ahead and break some of this down. This isn’t a “Marquette is getting beat by DePaul” blog. The biggest reason why? Larry Birkett is Marquette’s Director of Retail & Licensing for the athletic department. He’s been with Marquette for 25 years, and he’s had that specific title since 2022. Marquette also has a Director of Athletic Business Affairs in Mason Darling, and while his job leans more towards keeping a hand on the tiller of the overall business that is Marquette athletics, you’d have to figure that the “financial planning and policy” part of his job description on the athletic department website would at least wind into the idea of signing a jersey patch sponsorship, one way or another.

In short: There are people in place to think about and work on these types of things, and that’s before you even consider the role of Learfield Sports and their multi-media services for Marquette in all of this.

Here’s where I’m going with all of this, and it’s not “Why doesn’t Marquette have a jersey patch sponsor yet?”

It’s “What is Marquette doing to maximize the value of their future jersey patch sponsor?”

Yes, future, not potential. A jersey patch is coming to a Marquette uniform near you. It might not be in 2026-27, but it is going to happen eventually, and we have to ask what the administration is doing to get the most out of it.

DePaul is doing something innovative with a local business to help the business get some attention and also use the athletic department as a bit of a product development laboratory. They get the paycheck to put the patch on the basketball jerseys, but more than that, they’re getting access to new and better information about what kind of products with collegiate partners are selling like hotcakes lately. That helps the Blue Demons make big executive decisions about what direction to take their marketing and advertising dollars, and on a long enough timeline, the partnership with Desert Cactus has the potential to provide financial benefits to DePaul for years and years to come, possibly even past which point the jersey patch sponsorship still exists.

That’s being creative to activate new revenue streams in a moment in time where every athletic department in the country could use extra money flowing in because of revenue sharing with the athletes. Marquette is not immune to that pressure, and look no further than The Athletic confirming that new men’s basketball transfer Sananda Fru will be picking up at least $3.9 million during the 2026-27 season to understand MU’s place in things.

For now, my question is not “Why doesn’t Marquette have a patch sponsor yet?” and it’s not “When is Marquette getting a patch sponsor?” My question is “What is Marquette doing to maximize the value of the sponsor partnership they will eventually sign?” I’m asking about what inventive and creative ideas are being thrown around the McGuire Center, because an athletic department can not survive on raising ticket prices and mega-donors footing the bill alone. There has to be something else, something new, something interesting in play.

I asked this same question about men’s basketball scheduling back when Duke struck their broadcasting deal with Amazon. For now, I don’t have any answers or signs or whatever you want to call it that Marquette is moving in a creative manner on that or on a jersey patch or on anything else. That’s fine, sometimes deals take a long time to marinate and develop. Immediate answers aren’t crucial here. But the longer we wait, the easier it is to say that a lack of anything creative coming out of the office is a notable problem, and once we get to that point, that problem is going to start growing exponentially.

---

Follow Anonymous Eagle on social media

Facebook: AnonymousEagle
Instagram: AnonymousEagleSBN
Bluesky: AnonymousEagle

Awa Fam is the future.  

Just ask the Seattle Storm, which selected her with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Or ask the FIBA, which tabbed the 6-foot-4 forward as Spain’s “rising star” for the upcoming Women’s Basketball World Cup.  

Fam, 20, will be in good company when the global women’s basketball competition tips off in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 4. Only three — Czechia, Nigeria and Puerto Rico — of the 16 participating teams won’t feature an active WNBA player.

In an interview with USA TODAY, Fam beamed at the idea of both her worlds colliding on the global stage.  

“I’m excited to speak Spanish with my teammates. I’ll see my (Storm) teammates, too,” Fam said with a laugh as she looked ahead to the tournament.  

Three other Seattle players will compete in the World Cup. Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne will play for Australia and Dominique Malonga for France. The New York Liberty will send a league-high seven players to the tournament.  

It's all evidence of the WNBA becoming more international, which commissioner Cathy Engelbert described as “what’s next,” for the 30-year-old league. Engelbert made that declaration at the 2026 WNBA Draft, the same night Fam realized an aspiration she said she’s held since she was 3 years old — being drafted in the league along with 17 other players born outside of the USA.  

Now, a difficult rookie season winds down with the last-place Storm (8-31) sitting three losses from tying the league record for most in a season. Fam is a bright spot, along with a young core which features 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga and fellow rookie Fla’Jae Johnson.  

“I love Awa,” Johnson told USA TODAY. “Even though I'm a little older than her, I feel like we're on the same vibe. She's so mature.

"But we’re really just learning how to play together and it's so cool. It’s like we’re trying to read each others minds. We be messing up and then we'll get it.”  

Fam's transition to the WNBA 

Fam has lived a double life since she was 15 years old. 

That’s when she joined Spain’s Valencia basket, becoming the youngest to play for the top-tier club. Fam would get out of school at 2 p.m. and travel for a game — Turkey one day, Italy or Berlin the next. All while learning to be a ”normal girl” and a professional on the court.  

“I was 15 years old playing against 30-year-old girls,” Fam said. “I remember it was a really crazy life.”  

The lead up to her delayed WNBA debut was no different. As she opted to rejoin Valencia for the Liga Feminina playoffs after she was drafted, the Storm arranged Zoom calls with assistant coaches to accelerate her acclimation to the WNBA.  

Days after Fam aided her longtime club to a fourth consecutive LF championship win, she made an instant impact for the Storm, coming off the bench in her first contest to record 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two rebounds in a 97-85 win over the Washington Mystics on May 24. 

On June 3, 14 days short of her 20th birthday, she earned her first WNBA start — the youngest Storm player to start a game in franchise history. 

Storm building on Big 3

The Storm is swimming in young talent, with Malonga boasting the title of the WNBA’s youngest player last season at 19.  

The French phenom, who made the jump from standout rookie to All-Star reserve this season, is currently leading the Storm in scoring (17 ppg) , rebounding (8.8 rpg) and (1.5) blocks.  

On paper, Malonga and Fam make a formidable frontcourt duo. Fam leads all rookies in rebounding (5.8 per game) and offensive boards (1.9 per game). She also ranks first among rookies in total blocks with 26 on the season and is second among centers in 3-pointers made with 1.4 per game. 

But the Storm’s wealth of bigs doesn’t stop there, with 27-year-old Australian veteran Ezi Magbegor also on the roster. Fam, Magbegor and Malonga have only made one start together this season with a lackluster result, combining for 14 points on 4-for-19 shooting in a blowout loss to the Dallas Wings on Sunday, Aug. 23. 

“It takes time for them to play together and see how that looks,” first-year coach Sonia Raman said. “It’s just a work in progress.”  

Maybe the roster will look different next year. Fam hopes she, Johnson and Malonga are given a chance to keep working at it long-term.  

“We are a really good three,” Fam said. “We really connect on and off the court ... Just let us cook. That's the one thing that I want. I really think that it's going to be super, super great.”  

What to expect in the FIBA World Cup

Malonga couldn’t hide her smile when she told reporters there's already been "a little" trash talk between the Storm’s World Cup-bound players.  

“I’m not going out there to make any friends. I want to win, and so that’s the mindset I’m going with," Malonga added.

She has that chance representing France, which has a whopping eight WNBA players and a chip on their shoulder from narrowly losing Olympic gold to Team USA at the 2024 Paris games. Les Bleues are widely viewed as the biggest threat to the United States’ squad continuing its streak of four consecutive World Cup titles.  

Spain has a difficult path ahead against Japan, Mali and Germany but is the slight favorite to come out of Group A – especially since they beat Germany en route to taking silver at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket champions last year.  

With Fam and Portland Fire draft-and-stash selection Iyana Martin, Spain will pair a new genertion of talent with veterans like Mariona Ortiz, Alba Torrens and Maria Conde.  

“These are really good basketball players,” Fam said of the level of World Cup play. “It's more tactical, more physical ... I really trust in Spain. So we’ll see what’s going to happen.” 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The WNBA's future is global. Seattle Storm rookie Awa Fam is what it looks like

The World Cup reignited a familiar debate about American youth sports. At the same time, lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation aimed at curbing predatory private equity practices, reflecting growing concern over rising costs and shrinking access. Those conversations are connected, and they point to a bigger question: What should youth sports actually be optimized for?

As former NFL players, fathers, and people who have spent our lives around youth athletics, we believe the answer is simple: participation.

We understand why this moment has prompted scrutiny. Youth sports have become more expensive. More complicated. Too often, families feel like they're being asked to spend thousands of dollars before a child has even decided whether they love the game.

Those concerns affect far more than the next generation of athletes and deserve addressing head-on.

But as the national conversation continues, we also believe it's important to distinguish between the practices that deserve criticism and the investments that are helping remove barriers for families. The question isn't simply who is investing in youth sports. It's whether those investments are making it easier or harder for kids to play.

COACH STEVE: Early morning after night game? No problem if you're Ohio's LLWS coach

That's the standard every organization in youth sports should be held to.

Are more kids getting the opportunity to play? Are costs coming down or going up? Is the experience becoming more accessible, or more exclusive?

Some organizations have earned the criticism they're receiving. When families are burdened by escalating fees, pressured into year-round commitments, or made to feel that meaningful participation is only available to those who can afford it, that's a problem.

But it would be a mistake to conclude that every investor, every operator, or every business model shares those incentives.

The reality is that youth sports don't have one problem. They have many.

Rising costs. Volunteer burnout. Aging community infrastructure. Increasing administrative burdens. Pressure to specialize earlier than ever. Families feeling like they have to choose one sport because they simply can't afford two.

Those challenges existed long before private equity entered the conversation, and they won't disappear simply by changing who owns youth sports organizations.

The youth sports debate is missing the bigger issue

What matters are the incentives.

Is investment being used to extract value from families or create more value for them?

Because investment, by itself, isn't inherently good or bad. It depends entirely on what it's trying to accomplish.

Across the country, countless youth leagues are run by volunteers who coach after work, spend weekends organizing schedules, coordinate referees, manage registrations, secure field permits, complete background checks, order uniforms, and answer late-night emails from parents. They're the backbone of youth sports, but they're also under tremendous pressure.

Those community leaders don't necessarily need someone to replace them. They need someone to support them.

If investment provides better technology, lowers administrative burdens, improves safety, creates more consistent experiences, and helps local organizations serve more families at an affordable cost, that's strengthening youth sports, not extracting from it.

REQUIRED READING: LLWS star Kinley Rasmus' next challenge? Playing for the nation's top flag football team

The opposite is true as well. If success is measured by continually asking families to spend more while fewer children can afford to participate, then we've lost sight of what youth sports is supposed to be about.

Because participation should be the scoreboard.

Not tournament revenue.

Not travel miles.

Not the size of the business.

Sports teach lessons that last far longer than any season. They teach resilience after failure. Confidence through preparation. Leadership, accountability, teamwork, discipline, and belonging.

Those lessons aren't reserved for the small percentage of kids who will eventually play in college or professionally.

They're just as important for the child who plays for two seasons and never picks up a ball again.

Every kid deserves the opportunity to experience that.

That's why affordability and accessibility aren't side conversations. They're the foundation.

If families are forced to choose between sports because costs have become prohibitive, or if children are expected to specialize before they've had the chance to simply enjoy competing with friends, everyone loses.

We've both lived this from different perspectives.

As parents, we've watched our own kids discover the joy that comes from being part of a team. We've also experienced the calendar pressures, the travel commitments, and the financial realities that many families are navigating every season.

As former athletes, we know firsthand that playing multiple sports helped shape us, not just as competitors, but as people.

The future of American sports depends on creating more opportunities for kids to play, not fewer.

Whether we're talking about soccer, flag football, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball or any other sport, the strongest pipeline isn't built by asking more of the few.

It's built by creating opportunities for the many.

That means supporting the organizations that have earned the trust of their communities—parks and recreation departments, Police Athletic Leagues, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, schools, local volunteers, and professional leagues that are investing in growing participation.

It also means recognizing that thoughtful investment can help those organizations do what they've always wanted to do: reach more kids.

This doesn't have to be a debate between nonprofit versus for-profit or public versus private.

The better question is whether every stakeholder is rowing in the same direction.

Are we making it easier for a child to try a sport for the first time?

Are we reducing unnecessary barriers?

Are we helping local communities thrive?

Are we expanding participation?

The current debate presents an opportunity—not just to scrutinize youth sports, but to rethink what success actually looks like.

For us, the measure of a healthy youth sports system isn't the amount of money flowing through it.

It's the number of kids on the field.

Izell Reese, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, RCX Sports

A seven-year National Football League veteran, Izell Reese leads RCX Sports, where he oversees the operation and expansion of youth sports programs across the country. Under his leadership, RCX has become the official youth sports operator for the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB, delivering professional-grade experiences to local communities. In 2026, RCX Sports was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list, recognizing its role in transforming access and infrastructure across youth sports.

Reese has been instrumental in the rise of flag football, helping expand NFL FLAG to more than 830,000 participants. He was named a 2023 NFL FLAG Global Ambassador and remains deeply committed to grassroots impact, championing programs that create opportunity and ensure every athlete has the chance to play and compete.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why youth sports must prioritize kids over profits | Opinion

On Thursday, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki held his annual golf tournament for the Assista Foundation and briefly spoke to the media. In a scrum, he touched on various topics, going from the salary cap to his leadership style and the fact that Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj have yet to sign.

Unsurprisingly, much like Juraj Slafkovsky when he spoke in Europe a few days ago, the captain is happy with his deal:

I’m happy for those guys. It’s great to see the league taking steps with, you know, salaries. It’s pretty crazy to see numbers come around, but I’m pretty happy with my contract, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s kind of what happens when you sign a long-term deal. I signed that deal like five years ago now, so times change; next time we’re all up, the cap’s going to be in a different spot.

- Suzuki on contracts

On Canadiens Lane Hutson And The Chase For Hardware
Canadiens: The Goalie Market May Start Heating Up
Canadiens: Could This Be A Big Opportunity For Kent Hughes?

In other words, when those contracts are up, the players will want a raise, which is fair, and that’s something GM Kent Hughes must already have in mind. Building a team and keeping it together in the salary cap era is not all that easy, and while Hughes may go and get some outside help at market value, he’s got to be mindful of how much he’ll need to re-sign his top players and plan for the future. That shouldn’t be a problem for a man who has spent years dealing with numbers as a player agent.

When asked if he was going to change his leadership style, the captain replied:

Definitely try to be, probably a little harder on the group. We’ve gone through a lot, learning things together, and expectations will be higher from the outside and internally. So, we’ve got to keep that standard up; we’ve said to try to drive that in every day.

- Suzuki on his leadership style

It wouldn’t be a shock to see that, since even though the Habs made their way to the Eastern Conference Final, they were easily dismissed by the Carolina Hurricanes. Suzuki praised the Hurricanes for how detailed their game is; clearly, he feels they have mastered their system and apply it relentlessly. That success didn’t happen overnight, though; they lost three times in the Conference Final, including two sweeps, and in their third attempt, they lost 4-1 to the champions-to-be Florida Panthers. Martin St-Louis has said time and time again that the toughest thing for a young NHL player is playing consistently, but that also applies to the team as a whole.

As for the fact that Bolduc and Xhekaj still haven’t signed, Suzuki’s not worried:

They’re both really important players; Zack had a good year. I thought he took steps throughout the season and into the playoffs. Arber is an important piece for our locker room and on the ice. So hopefully both guys can get it done. There’s still plenty of time, so I’m pretty hopeful.

- The captain on the remaining RFAs

The Canadiens kick off the preseason in 17 days with their traditional golf tournament, and training camp opens in 19 days. Chances are Suzuki will face even more questions on September 14 at the team’s tournament, but he still had a nice warm-up on Thursday.

---

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

Arkansas men's basketball coach John Calipari, one of the most respected voices in the sport, expressed his concern with teams filling their rosters due to legal battles in a recent podcast appearance.

Calipari, discussing the matter on "The Sideline" with Andy Katz, said he understands why teams would want to add players like former Missouri center Mark Mitchell, who received an extra year of eligibility to play at Kentucky, or former St. John's guard RJ Luis, who signed G-League deals before returning to college and signing with LSU.

REQUIRED READING: 'No one listens' to John Calipari's March Madness idea. Too bad. They should

He also wonders how the recruiting method will affect the sport moving forward.

"I don't begrudge any coach trying to do something to help his team win," Calipari said. "I don't begrudge a basketball player trying to get a fifth year because he's going to make a lot of money.

"The issue becomes, 'What is it doing to our recruiting in young kids?'"

The SEC, along with the other three Power Four conferences, recently adopted rules that bar professional athletes from returning to college, even if the player is granted a temporary restraining order in court like many are receiving in recent weeks as the NCAA's new five-for-five eligibility ruling opens the door for lawsuits.

A Dallas judge named the SEC and its commissioner Greg Sankey in a court order on Thursday, Aug. 27, that noted the league can't enforce its rule on a group of 41 players named as plaintiffs in the order, complicating how the league can combat players returning to college sports.

Calipari said it's all the more reason college sports needs legislation, even if the Protect College Sports Act isn't perfect, in his eyes.

"We need these commissioners to step in here and, I'll use the term, be the (expletives)," Calipari said.

The 67-year-old coach also brought up an interesting point about players losing their potential role on a team because of a late roster addition.

"For me, what does that do to the players in my program if I did it?" he said. "What does it to do a player that I have recruited and talked to, maybe one that was waiting his turn? Maybe it's a freshman. How do you have trust when you walk in, in September, and say, 'We just changed. I know what we told you, but that's not going to happen now because this kid's coming in.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Calipari calls on commissioners to be '(expletives)' in pro-to-college debate

The Mets have said from the very beginning that the plan is for interim manager Andy Green to return to a front office role upon the completion of this season. 

While there continues to be nothing but rave reviews since Green took over as the new head man, those plans don’t appear set to change. 

People familiar with the Mets’ internal thinking recently shared those sentiments with SNY’s Chelsea Janes, and now Green himself has confirmed it with The Athletic. 

The 49-year-old former MLB infielder explained to Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal that he’s reluctant to take on the full-time managerial gig next season because of his desire to be close to his daughters. 

“The family consideration is real,” Green said. “We’re all trying to do the best we can balancing career and family -- my twins have one year left in high school, I want to be present as much as possible, like any dad would.”

There's no denying New York has played much better under his tutelage, with a 26-27 record since late-June, but Green has made his desires clear to the higher-ups in the organization as well. 

“I’m going to take him at face value,” Steve Cohen said. “He’s telling us that he wants to go back to the front office.”

“I think it’s laudable and consistent with who he’s been during his time here,” David Stearns added. “He’s genuine and real about what fulfillment means for him.”

Whether or not Green will simply return to the player development role he filled over the past few seasons before being bumped up following Carlos Mendoza's firing remains to be seen.

Those who spoke with Janes floated the Mets’ general manager opening as a potential fit, but his interest in taking on that added responsibility remains unclear. 

If Green is willing, he certainly would be an intriguing option.

He has already built relationships throughout the organization in both of his roles, and comes with major league experience, which is something higher-ups have concluded they need more of in their operation.

Either way, Green appears destined to remain a crucial voice in the organization moving forward. 

Team: Providence Friars

2025-26 Record: 15-18, 7-13 Big East

2025-26 Big East Finish: Tied for seventh with Marquette and Butler, ended up as the #9 seed by way of head to head record against those two teams; one game behind DePaul, one game ahead of a tie for last between Xavier and Georgetown.

Final 2025-26 Computer Rankings

NET: #78
KenPom.com: #67
BartTorvik.com: #70

Postseason: The Friars checked out for the year after beating Butler in the first round of the Big East tournament and then losing by 13 to St. John’s in the quarterfinals.

Only Returning Player: Yes, normally we start the player discussion with who is departing to set the table to discuss exactly what the team is losing from last year and/or what do the returning guys and newcomers have to replace. However, it’s going to save us a whole bunch of time and energy to just tell you that Ryan Mela is the only returning player on the entire roster. He was in and out of the starting lineup as a sophomore this past year, ultimately averaging 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting a not-quite-helpful 32% on three-pointers. You might remember him from that time he got hit with a technical foul with less than a minute to play while down 29 points because he shoved Marquette walk-on Casey O’Malley to the ground.

Notable Departures: The most notable one is head coach Kim English, who was sent on his way with a record of 48-52 in three seasons at Providence. It was pretty much all downhill for English after he threw a nonsensical fit about missing the NCAA tournament in Year 1 and then followed that up by by losing to Davidson and St. Bonaventure before Christmas on his way to 12-20 in Year 2.

After that, there’s a 14-way tie for the second most notable departure. As I mentioned, everyone not named Ryan Mela is gone. Six of those 14 guys were seniors this past season, so they were always gone, no matter who the head coach was going to be. In terms of “was it right to pull the plug on Kim English,” his top two scorers — Jaylin Sellers and Jason Edwards — were both on their final year of eligibility this past season, so English was going to have to revamp things anyway if he stuck around. If you don’t like the direction that it was trending under his direction AND whoever the coach is would have to reset the roster kind of notably anyway? Yeah, probably a solid idea to make the change.

Key Additions: Because we’ve got a coaching change, we have to detour real quick…..

Coach: Bryan Hodgson, going into his first season at Providence and fourth as a Division 1 head coach. He went 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and is coming off a 25-9 season at South Florida that put the Bulls into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…….

Key Additions: Everyone on the roster other than Ryan Mela is new. That includes three freshmen and a redshirt freshman that has “did not see any action” in his team bio but isn’t on the 2025-26 roster. Sure.

One of the freshmen is from Italy, one of the freshmen is from Overtime Elite but isn’t rated or ranked by 247 Sports (which I think defies the logic of the use of the word “elite”), and one is Dink Pate. You tell me if this person is a college freshman under the definition of the new five years/five seasons/clock starts running when you graduate high school rules the NCAA put in this summer: High school class of 2023, one year with G League Ignite, one year with Mexico City in the G League, one year with Westchester in the G League. I would argue that sounds an awful lot like someone who is going into their fourth of five possible years of eligibility….. and someone who is actually not eligible at all because they were in the G League. Now, I will point out that he was born in March of 2006, so he has only just now turned 20…. but again: Three years in the G League drawing a paycheck, and he was entered in the 2025 NBA Draft, too. Let’s put it another way: Dink Pate played in a game on the same team as Tyler Kolek this past season.

Alrighty, that means there are eight transfers on the roster here. I don’t have time or interest in running through all of them, not when the entire roster is still wearing name tags at practice. One of them is following Bryan Hodgson north from Tampa, and that’s Gavin Hightower (6’1”, 165 lb sophomore guard, Los Angeles, California). It’s nice that he wants to keep playing for the same coach, but said coach had him averaging less than 10 minutes a night in the American for conference play last season. Okay, that’s unfair, his minutes picked way up towards the end of the year, which includes double digits in both of their American tournament games and in the 83-79 loss to Louisville in the NCAA tourney.

There are just two high major transfers on the list here. One is Arrinten Page (6’11”, 245 lb senior forward, Atlanta, Georgia), who has bounced from USC to Cincinnati to Northwestern and now to Providence. He averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds as a part-time starter for the Wildcats last season, which was his most productive year in college hoops. The other high major guy is Malik Mack (6’2”, 175 lb. senior guard, Oxon Hill, Maryland), whom you might remember from his two years at Georgetown. (ASIDE: I don’t want to come across as judgy, but when you go from Harvard to Georgetown to Providence, you’re going in the wrong direction.) Mack put up 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists a night in two seasons for the Hoyas, and he’s obviously familiar with the level of play in this conference as well.

Outlook: Any actual predicting regarding Providence men’s basketball for 2026-27 is guessing. It’s an entirely brand new roster coached by a guy in his fourth year as a head coach and who happens to be on his third team in three seasons. I don’t know how this is going to go, you don’t know how this is going to go, Bryan Hodgson hopes it goes well. That’s the most optimistic thing we can say about the Friars right now, even with BartTorvik.com going waaaaay out over their computerized skis and projecting PC at just outside the top 50.

With that said.

Bryan Hodgson is a Nate Oats guy. He was on staff with Oats back when he was at Buffalo, and then he followed his boss to Alabama. Their last year at Buffalo was the Bulls’ best ever season in the KenPom.com era. Hodgson’s last year on the bench at Alabama was the best KP season for that program. Hodgson took over an Arkansas State program that went 13-20 with a 4-14 record in the Sun Belt the year before and got them to 20-17 overall and 11-7 in the league in his first season. Year Two ended up as Arkansas State’s best year in the KenPom era. Hodgson’s only year at South Florida is the Bulls’ best KenPom season, too.

It would seem undeniable that Hodgson knows how to have a positive impact on a basketball roster. For the last 11 years, he’s been touring the country either helping or leading programs to their best seasons since 1997. It would be wrong on multiple levels to expect him to immediately pull off that kind of performance with Providence, as that would mean a KenPom top 25 finish because Tim Welsh had them at #24 at the end of the season in 2004. (Ed Cooley’s best finish was #27! In 2015!) That’s definitely a bridge too far to expect.

But can Hodgson coach a competitive team in this league right away? Sure. If his high tempo system carries over, then the focus on turnovers on both ends and getting after it on the offensive glass plus forcing bad shots can do a lot of damage right away. There might be some bumps in the road what with the lack of familiarity between the players, but I wouldn’t be surprised to be able to put a Most Improved From Start To End label on Providence by the time we get to next April.

---

Follow Anonymous Eagle on social media

Facebook: AnonymousEagle
Instagram: AnonymousEagleSBN
Bluesky: AnonymousEagle

It’s no secret that the UConn Huskies have been the boogeyman, or monster hiding under the bed, for the Illinois men’s basketball program in recent memory.

It all started back in 2024, when the Illini were amidst a magical March Madness run and ended up being tasked with facing a juggernaut Huskies team in the Elite Eight.

Things started off competitively in the game, with the score tied at 23 with two minutes to go in the first half, and both teams in the fight.

And that’s when things took a turn for the worse for the Orange and Blue, as the Huskies went for the kill shot, ripping off a now-infamous 30-0 run.

THE FULL UCONN 30-0 RUN ‼️

Unbelievable. @UConnMBB 😱#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/T0Tbl2JlLV

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 31, 2024

Illinois ended up losing 77-52 after trailing by as many as 30 points at one point in the second half,

Since then, the two teams have rematched twice, both in the 2025-26 season.

The Huskies won in the regular season at Madison Square Garden in November of 2025, and once again ended a deep Illini postseason run in the Final Four back in April, cementing the overwhelming truth that UConn has had Illinois’s number as of late.

Even if you peel things back a layer, the Huskies have dominated the all-time series between the two historic programs.

In fact, the last time Illinois beat UConn was in the two teams’ first-ever meeting all the way back in 1938.

To put that in perspective, the last time the Illini took down the Huskies, World War II hadn’t even started yet, and the NCAA basketball Tournament didn’t even exist.

So if you’re only looking at games that happened after the early 20th century, Illinois holds a 0-5 record against UConn.

That means that this season, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood and his “Everyday Guys” have an opportunity to do something that hasn’t been done in almost 90 years.

On Friday, Dec. 4, at the United Center in Chicago, the Illini will have their chance to fight off the demons that have been plaguing them and beat the Huskies.

UConn’s Dan Hurley, one of the best head coaches in all of college basketball, is returning a few familiar faces from last season’s showdowns.

Sophomore guard and projected lottery pick Braylon Mullins will be back with the team. While he wasn’t much of a factor early in the season, he came on strong in the postseason and burned the Illini from deep in the Final Four, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 15 points.

Illinois fans may also remember senior guards Solo Ball and Silas Demaray Jr., both of whom bring a slew of experience to the fold. Demaray played extremely well in the Final Four win and flirted with a triple-double, while Ball remained an impact scorer.

Underwood is returning a lot of talent as well in guys like Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic and both Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic, while also bringing in a talented transfer in Stefan Vaaks and several talented freshmen.

The Illini men’s basketball team recently released its full nonconference schedule for 2026-27, and while there are several games against top-tier opponents, it’ll be hard for any of them to have as much juice as the December showdown with the UConn Huskies.

Circle 'em. Mark 'em. Put 'em in your calendar. pic.twitter.com/IRXXYm6sow

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) August 21, 2026