DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 13: Keider Montero #54 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Thursday, August 13, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Zack Belsky/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Detroit Tigers dropped the weekend home series opener to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, 2-1. Tarik Skubal threw six frames of one-run ball for the visitors, but that was all the offense would score, leaving no room for error for the relief corps — and of course with this group, there is always a hiccup or two.
Taking the mound for the Tigers on Saturday afternoon looking to even the series is right-hander Keider Montero, who has produced mixed results in his seven games since returning to the starting role. Cumulatively, the 26-year-old has put up a solid 3.22 ERA along with a 4.46 FIP, but three of those outings saw him get tagged for three or more runs, resulting in all three of his losses over that stretch.
Most recently, Montero gave up three runs on four hits (one home run) and a walk while striking out three Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4-1 loss at PNC Park.
For the Dodgers, left-hander Blake Snell will make his fifth start of the season after missing three months following surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. The 33-year-old was roughed up in his first appearance of 2026, but since then has thrown three straight six-inning quality starts, posting a microscopic 1.00 ERA along with an impressive 2.08 FIP on seven hits and walks while striking out 21, along with a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch.
Here is what Saturday’s matchup between the two hurlers at Comerica Park looks like on paper.
Detroit Tigers (62-72) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (81-54)
Time (ET): 1:10 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:True Blue LA Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 135: RHP Keider Montero (9-8, 3.30 ERA) vs. LHP Blake Snell (2-1, 2.57 ERA)
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JUNE 13: Fans gather on the concourse prior to Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. 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. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last season, Victor Wembanyama introduced American basketball to European football fandom. His brainchild, The Jackals, were designed to make the Frost Bank Center the NBA’s most raucous arena. Wemby held auditions, cast a number of rabid fans who committed to attending the majority of home games, and set them loose. His experiment was a huge success, and the Jackals not only raised the level of excitement in the Forst Bank Center, they made special trips to out of town games. Wemby personally invited many along to attend the NBA Cup when the Spurs upset a number of Western Conference teams to make it all the way to the Emirates Final.
The Jackals are returning for the 2026-2027 season and their numbers are increasing. Auditions are being held for prospective members.
Per a Spurs press release:
“The Spurs Jackals will host auditions on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Frost Bank Center, giving passionate Spurs fans the opportunity to join the supporter section for the 2026-27 season. Auditions will begin at 9 a.m., and fans interested can register here.“
This year the Jackals are adding two new areas — Sections 114 and 115 — allowing space for 100 new members.
Fans auditioning should show up in Spurs gear and come ready to bring the energy. If you are interested in learning more can visit Spurs.com/Jackals or text JACKALS to (210) 444-5940.
Go Spurs Go!
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During the years that Red Auerbach ran the Celtics, the organization was a paragon of stability and tradition. First Red coached the Celtics, and then, often, the players he coached coached the Celtics. The uniforms didn’t change, and banner after banner of the same plain type accumulated in the rafters of the old Boston Garden. One by one, player numbers were retired and raised to the same lofty position above the most storied court in the National Basketball Association. From a basketball perspective, the Celtics were about as solid and stable as the rock of Gibraltar.
But that stability was not reflected in team ownership.
After Walter Brown died unexpectedly in the fall of 1964, the Celtics went through a twenty-year period when ten different ownership groups controlled the team.
In 1983, the Celtics were purchased from Harry Mangurian by a consortium led by Don Gaston. Gaston had been an executive with Gulf+Western when they owned the Knicks, having purchased Madison Square Garden and its tenants in 1977.
Gaston’s consortium included Boston native Paul Dupee, and Alan Cohen, who was an executive with the New Jersey Nets at the time—both were also Gulf+Western alumni. The sale price was reported to be $15 million.
Gaston, a Texas native, had left Gulf+Western in 1982 after assembling a group of investors that purchased Providence Capitol International Insurance Ltd., and Famous Players Realty, Ltd. from Gulf+Western for $350 million.
About three years after purchasing the Celtics, Gaston and his partners decided to share the wealth while creating some wealth for themselves.
They sold 40% of the Boston Celtics on the New York Stock Exchange on December 3, 1986.
This was the first—and so far only—time that a sports franchise has been publicly traded.
It provided an opportunity for any number of Celtics fans, including my dad, to claim an ownership stake in what could in a very real sense now be called ‘their’ team.
It was also an excellent move for the wallets of Boston’s ownership group. Having paid around $15 million for the team in the fall of 1983, they recouped about three times that in an IPO that simultaneously lined their pockets with an estimated $48 million in cash and boosted the valuation of their holdings to about $72 million—not a bad return overall. At the close of the first day of trading, the Celtics were valued at $120 million, give or take. This was an astronomical price for a professional sports team at the time.
For the next sixteen years and change, the Celtics were, partially, a publicly traded entity.
The IPO was the brainchild of Charles Weiss at Smith Barney, an investment banking firm that didn’t survive the 2008 financial crisis. His idea was to create a series of “Master Limited Partnerships” in which sports franchise owners could raise a significant amount of capital by selling a minority stake on the market; master limited partnerships would also ease the tax burden that sports teams would face, as income would be distributed to partners who would pay taxes individually. Gaston and his partners, who were always businessmen first, leaped at the opportunity.
The Celtics IPO was a relatively small float of 2.6 million shares.
Those shares ended up in the hands of about 95,000 investors, meaning the average shareholder was sitting on just over 27 shares. This created an enormous headache whenever dividends came due. It cost the Celtics roughly $1 million per year just to print and mail out the quarterly checks. These quarterly dividends, always under a dollar per share, were quickly turned into an annual distribution which saved considerable money in postage and printing. Adding to the headache was the fact that roughly one out of every ten stockholders failed to deposit those dividend checks.
Celtics fans held onto their shares, too. On any given day, fewer than 2,000 Boston Celtics Limited Partnership shares might change hands on the New York Stock Exchange. Far more stock certificates were likely to be found hanging on the walls of offices and dens, and, in the case of particularly tolerant spouses, perhaps even in living rooms.
In exchange for a sudden influx of cash and a boost to the bottom line, trading on the stock exchange required that the Celtics open their books to public scrutiny in a way that no team before or since has had to. In addition to player contracts, which were generally reported on and public knowledge, salaries of front office personnel were revealed. For example, it turned out that Red Auerbach was making a relatively modest $250,000 per year, an amount that had been guaranteed for Red’s lifetime in a contract with the new owners.
In 1998, a ten-year provision that had kept the favorable tax treatment of income under master limited partnerships in place expired. As a result, the Celtics were reorganized into a byzantine structure in which individuals who held more than 100 shares would be eligible to obtain partner status, while smaller investors would receive a share in the new entity along with $20 in subordinated debt per share: basically, they would be given an IOU from the Celtics guaranteeing payment of 6% annual interest (or $1.20), and, in forty years, repayment of the full $20.
This new structure was arranged in an effort to preserve the pass-through treatment of income that had been in place with the master limited partnership.
Under the new arrangement, the Boston Celtics were owned by a partnership, Celtics Basketball, L.P., which, in turn, was owned by Celtics Basketball Holdings, L.P. 48.3123% of Celtics Basketball Holdings, L.P. was owned by Boston Celtics Limited Partnership II, or “BCLP II,” which was, in fact, the original Boston Celtics Limited Partnership. A new Boston Celtics Limited Partnership, “BCLP,” owned 99% of “BCLP II.” BCLP was the entity with publicly traded shares, while BCLP II was the entity that issued the $20 debentures.
Presumably there were tax advantages to having this many tiers of ownership over the Boston Celtics, and it seems likely that such convoluted arrangements are in place with other teams, now that professional sports have become a big business.
In fact, it could be well argued that the Celtics IPO was the beginning of the ‘big business’ era for sports franchise ownership.
At a swoop, the valuation of the Celtics jumped from $15 million to $120 million. Ownership of a basketball franchise, which had been more or less a hobby for the well-heeled up to this point, suddenly became a realm where serious cash was required to buy into the game. With that cash came expectations regarding revenue growth and profitability.
Available documents from the SEC’s EDGAR online database of filings from 2001 and later show that there were still about 58,000 individual stockholders at the time that Wyc Grousbeck’s ownership group put in an offer for the team.
These individuals, many of whom had likely held onto their shares going back to the initial public offering, or a few months afterwards, were paid $27 for their share, which, along with redemption of the $20 debenture, meant a $47 return on an initial investment, if made around the time of the IPO, of about $18. This was about a 261% gain, not counting dividends.
Interestingly, this reflected an approximately even return on investment compared to what Gaston and company had accrued based on the team’s valuation at the time of the IPO. The net sale price of the Celtics in 2002 was $310 million, which was a 258% increase over the IPO’s valuation of around $120 million.
However, Gaston, Dupee and Cohen had bought the team for just $15 million, and the return on their cash outlay amounted to about 2,067% when the team sold in 2002, not counting the $48 million that they had received from the IPO. Grousbeck’s group paid $360 million for the Celtics, which was a record sum for the NBA at the time, but $50 million was used to retire various debt obligations, including the debentures that had been distributed to shareholders in 1998.
This sale marked the end of an interesting experiment in franchise ownership during a period that saw valuations of professional sports teams skyrocket. This trend has only continued with the record sale of the Celtics in 2025 for $6.1 billion, a sale price that was rapidly eclipsed by two different sales of the Los Angeles Lakers, first for $10 billion and then, less than a year later, $12.5 billion.
The irony is that an IPO that marked the transformation of sports into big business also made it possible for ordinary fans of every stripe to own a piece of their favorite team, at least for a time.
There will be no in-season international tournament this season, but the NHL All-Star Game will return for the first time since 2024 and feature an international theme.
Here is when the NHL regular season begins and the key dates for the 2026-27 season:
When does the NHL regular season begin?
The 2026-27 NHL season starts on Sept. 29 with the following five games. There will be an ESPN tripleheader in the United States and a Sportsnet doubleheader in Canada.
All times Eastern
Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m. (ESPN): A meeting of the last three Stanley Cup winners. Carolina will raise a Stanley Cup banner for the first time in 20 years. Both teams lost their longtime goalies (Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, Carolina's Frederik Andersen) to free agency.
All 32 teams will be in action on Oct. 13 and April 10.
When does Brady Tkachuk return to Ottawa?
The former Ottawa Senators captain will return on Oct. 21. He was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he's joining brother Matthew.
When does Quinn Hughes return to Vancouver?
He never did last season after his blockbuster trade to the Minnesota Wild. He will this season on Oct. 25.
When is the Heritage Classic game?
The Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens will play in the outdoor Heritage Classic on Oct. 25 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
When is the Hockey Hall of Fame induction?
Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne, Cindy Curley, Keith Tkachuk and Brian Burke will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 9. The Hall of Fame game will feature the New Jersey Devils playing at the Maple Leafs on Nov. 7 in Toronto.
When is the NHL Global Series?
The Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken will play in Helsinki, Finland on Nov. 12 and 14.
The Golden Knights host the Hurricanes on Dec. 20. Carolina will host Vegas on Jan. 17.
When is the Winter Classic?
The Winter Classic will be on New Year's Eve at University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utah Mammoth will host the Colorado Avalanche, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
When is the NHL All-Star Game?
The NHL All-Star weekend will be Feb. 5-6, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The skills competition is on the 5th and the All-Star Game will be on the 6th. There are new formats this season.
When is the Stadium Series game?
The Dallas Stars and Golden Knights play in the outdoor Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Feb. 20.
When does Sergei Bobrovsky return to Florida?
The two-time Stanley Cup winner, who signed with Toronto in the offseason, will return on March 6.
When does John Carlson return to Washington?
The Capitals' all-time top-scoring defenseman was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks last season and will return with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 15.
When the 2026-27 NHL season end?
It will end on April 10 with all 32 teams in action.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.
Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth look on as Jackie Mitchell, one of the first women to play professional baseball, practices her form.Photograph: AP
The Sultan of Swat sounded exasperated. “I don’t know what things are coming to,” Babe Ruth sighed during spring training in 1931.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball,” he elaborated to reporters. “Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball everyday.”
The next day, Ruth and Lou Gehrig were struck out back-to-back by a 17-year-old girl.
Making their way home from preseason in Florida, the New York Yankees had stopped off in Tennessee for an exhibition game against the minor-league Chattanooga Lookouts. The Lookouts handed a debut to a promising young pitcher with precise control, a quirky side-arm delivery and a vicious sinker. Her name was Jackie Mitchell.
The strikeouts of two all-time greats sparked still-ongoing debates over the legitimacy of Mitchell’s achievement and the general lack of opportunities for female players.
Mitchell was summoned from the bullpen in the first inning. In front of a 4,000-strong crowd, Ruth, an Associated Press reporter wrote at the time, came to the plate with “a wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth”. A New York Times writer implied that it was all theater: “The Babe performed his role very ably. He swung hard at two pitches then demanded that Umpire Owens inspect the ball, just as batters do when utterly baffled by a pitcher’s delivery.”
Ruth struck out looking and was said to have hurled his bat while somehow “registering disgust with his shoulder and chin”. Gehrig then struck out after “three hefty swings”. Mitchell came out of the game after walking the next batter, Tony Lazzeri, and the Yankees went on to win 14-4.
Asked in a postgame press conference if the strikeouts were genuine, Mitchell was reported to have “retorted with a gaze of utter scorn and a contemptuous silence”. As Lapham’s Quarterly noted, Ruth and Gehrig enigmatically kept mum on the matter.
There is cause to be suspicious. The occasion had been scheduled for April Fool’s Day, though it was postponed by a day because of bad weather. And the Lookouts were run by a tireless promoter and showman known as the Barnum of the Bush Leagues. A former Major League Baseball pitcher and scout, Joe Engel became president of the Lookouts in 1929 and opened a new ballpark - Engel Stadium - the following year.
Desperate for publicity as he sought to boost attendance during the Great Depression, Engel made the Lookouts the Savannah Bananas of their era.
He famously traded his shortstop, “Binky” Jones, for a turkey “because the turkey was having a better year”. He then served the bird to critical sportswriters, offering them a free lunch and telling them, “You’ve been giving me the bird, so now have one on me.”
So Mitchell’s signing was undoubtedly an exploitative publicity stunt, but that does not necessarily mean that the strikeouts were staged. (Though Engel did have an affinity for hoaxes: he would later pretend to carry out a phone call with Adolf Hitler at home plate for the entertainment of a wartime crowd.)
One explanation promulgated at the time by male sportswriters was chivalry: it would have been ungentlemanly to have humiliated the kid by launching the ball into the stratosphere. “Babe Gallantly Strikes Out For Benefit Of Girl Hurler,” read one headline. But that explanation does not take into account professional pride. While being struck out by a girl might have appealed to the media-savvy Ruth’s sense of fun, Gehrig was a more earnest character. And Mitchell clearly had talent.
Born in Chattanooga on 29 August 1913, the 5ft 8in lefty was a gifted all-round athlete who learned baseball basics from her father and played for Engel’s all-female team (somewhat inevitably named the Engelettes). The story goes that she was taught to throw her signature “drop” pitch by a neighbor in Memphis - “Dazzy” Vance, a Hall of Famer who led the National League in strikeouts for seven seasons in a row.
The 36-year-old Ruth would go on to smack 46 home runs in the 1931 regular season with 162 runs batted in; Gehrig, who turned 28 that summer, also hit 46 homers, with an American League-record 185 RBI. Mitchell, though, did not feature for the Lookouts again - at least not until she was invited to throw a ceremonial first pitch in 1982.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge and commissioner of baseball, was reported to have voided her contract on the basis that professional baseball was too physical for women and for their own safety they should stick to playing recreationally among themselves. While reports of Landis’s verdict have not been definitively confirmed, Mitchell herself thought it was the case. “I believe I could qualify and might be signed by a major league team and might someday get to play in a World Series if Judge Landis hadn’t ruled against my playing in major league ball,” she told the St Louis Post-Dispatch in 1933.
Capitalizing on her fame, she played in exhibitions and, curiously, for the House of David – a barnstorming outfit that was a side hustle for a Michigan religious cult that forbade male members from cutting their hair. She retired in 1937 and went to work for her father, an optician.
Organized women’s baseball in the US had started in 1866 when Vassar College in New York state, then an all-female institution, founded a team, the Resolutes. The first known female professional teams, the Blondes and the Brunettes, started play in Illinois in 1875, but they were essentially theatrical troupes performing a novelty act and their rosters were stuffed with actresses, according to the author and historian Debra Shattuck.
Barnstorming Bloomer Girls - so called because of their baggy trousers - were common in baseball from the 1890s and Lizzie Arlington, the first woman to take part in a professional minor-league men’s game, pitched a scoreless ninth inning (two hits, no runs) in 1898 for the Reading Coal Heavers in an Atlantic League win over the Allentown Peanuts in front of a thousand-strong crowd.
This long history did not dissuade sexist newspapers from treating Mitchell as a novelty act. “The curves won’t all be on the ball when pretty Jackie Mitchell … takes the mound,” one preview declared. “It might be supposed that having adopted the exciting and strenuous profession of baseball, Miss Mitchell has abandoned the usual feminine arts, but the contrary is true. She can sew and make a dress, she cooks with skill and success and even plays the piano,” another report observed.
Three years after Mitchell’s moment in the spotlight, the celebrated multi-sport athlete Babe Didrikson Zahariaspitched two scoreless innings for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Cleveland Indians in a spring training game, days after pitching one inning for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers (giving up a walk and no hits) and for the St Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox (conceding three runs on four hits). One of three women to play in the Negro Leagues, and the only pitcher, 5ft3in Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, compiled a 33-8 record for the Indianapolis Clowns between 1953 and 1955.
When shortstop Eleanor Engle signed for the struggling minor-league Harrisburg Senators in 1952 it was the kindling for a media firestorm. Acting with the support of MLB commissioner Ford Frick, the boss of the minor leagues, George Trautman, cancelled her contract shortly before her scheduled debut, forcing her to change out of her uniform and watch the game from the press box. Trautman issued a statement asserting that “such travesties” would not be tolerated and clubs attempting to sign women in the future would be “subject to severe penalties”.
In 1993 the Chicago White Sox made history by selecting a female player, pitcher Carey Schueler - the daughter of Ron Schueler, a former major league pitcher and a White Sox executive at the time - in the 43rd round of the MLB draft. She did not sign and instead played college basketball. Four years later, Ila Borders pitched for the St Paul Saints and went on to appear in 52 minor league games for four professional clubs over four seasons.
Whether Ruth and Gehrig struck out intentionally in 1931 remains an enduring mystery, though the self-assured Mitchell herself had no doubt: “Why, hell, they were trying, damn right,” she told a reporter shortly before her death in 1987. “Hell, better hitters than them couldn’t hit me. Why should they’ve been any different?”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 9: Jake Livanavage #4 of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and Jack Horbach #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers get tangled up in the second period during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four semifinal at the T-Mobile Arena on April 9, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Badgers won 2-1. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25 listing of the best young players in the organization is now complete, here it is.
There are always obvious questions for a list like this to wonder why certain players are in a spot, ahead or behind of others. It’s a tough task to sort through players who may be years away from NHL impact (if they ever get there at all) and others with more limited windows and lower ceilings but a higher chance of adding something at the NHL level in the very near future.
This year, the tiers get messy and feature some overlap of competing priorities and abilities. That’s where some of the art comes in to blend players further out with bright promise against others further along.
Generally speaking, this might help:
Tier One, 1-3: High-end, ready or very near-ready NHL players
Kindel is almost in a class by himself in the organization at this point, a step ahead of everyone else since he’s still one of the youngest and already established himself as an NHL lineup contributor. Brunicke and Murashov both are very close to joining Kindel as full-time NHL players that could be top of the lineup players in the near future. These players may or may not all end up being long-term first line star players, but right now they look like very strong bets to be key contributors and the cream of the current crop when it comes to young players in the organization.
Tier Two, 4-10: Bright prospects a little further away
The Ruck twins, who are scheduled to be in college for the 2027-28 season, are the outliers here where the majority of the rest of the group should be getting chances in the near future to show what they’ve got. Some like Rutger McGroarty and Joel Blomqvist would prefer to push up to the top category (though at this point their overall ceilings aren’t as high-end). Others like Bill Zonnon and Mikhail Ilyin are just getting started in the organization. In general, these players like the Rucks and Horcoff won’t be big factors in the very near future but are a little further out. They’re already well-regarded and have a lot going in their favor but most (though not all) just need a little more time to see how the developments go.
Tier Three, 11-15: Clock ticking on mid-level prospects
The players in this area (Hendrix Lapierre, Ville Koivunen, Avery Hayes, Tristan Broz, Owen Pickering) are getting on the clock for making a move in their individual careers. These players have been pros for several years, all will be at least 23 years old by midseason (some even older still). None have secured NHL spots going into the start of the 2026-27 season. The majority might even be the core players for Wilkes-Barre during the bulk of this season. At some point, it stands to figure that most if not all of these players will get their opportunity as a mid-season call-up during the year. From there, they’ll need to make the most of it to extend the audition. This tier has some guys where it would be really beneficial and perhaps a positive surprise to see a great training camp, but each individual on it is in a spot where they need something to stand out and gain some positive momentum. Only by hockey prospect standards can they be considered old, yet they’re starting to get there. Overall they still hold an amount of short-term organizational value since they should be at a minimum really good AHL players for the team this year, now it’s a matter of seeing, who if, any can make the most of their chances and elevate into something bigger.
Tier Four, 16-25: Distant prospects
At the end of the line are the players that are just starting out their pro careers within the last year (Jake Livanavage, Tanner Howe, Melvin Fernstrom, Finn Harding, Chase Pietilla) or even further out and playing outside of the Pens’ organization for at least the coming season (Pierce Mbuyi, Tomas Galvas, Peyton Kettles, Zam Plante, Brady Peddle, Ryan Miller). Unlike the tier above them, they are young or inexperienced enough to where time is more on their side as far as future developments are going, considering most in this year has been drafted within the last two years. This area needs to simmer for at least another year or two and hopefully they will put together some tractions as they work their way into the NHL picture one day from the bottom of the rankings.
—
Overall for the Penguins, the future looks bright. This T25U25 list is the best one for the Penguins in many moons, it wasn’t so long ago that admittedly there were some very long longshots found in the top-10 simply due to a lack of material in general (Isaac Belliveau, Filip Lindberg, Jonathan Gruden come to mind from 2021-23).
Further, even better is that Pittsburgh has acquired several young-ish players that are a little older than these prospects. Somewhat recent additions of Arturs Silovs, Egor Chinakhov, Nick Robertson, Declan Carlile, Kaeden Korczak and Elmer Soderblom are players now in the 25-26 age range that will contribute to the NHL this season and possibly beyond in some cases. They didn’t make the aged-based cut-off to be showcased in our summer series but they still represent a big chunk of the NHL roster that will be important for the short and mid-range future.
The other piece of good news is that more young talent should be flowing in the neat future. The Pens have all their future first round picks as of now. They’ll get the Rangers’ second round pick in ‘27 and have two additional second round picks in 2028 (Dallas and Colorado) to have as many as seven future top-50/60ish picks that will be added to the organization over the next 22 months. That’s subject to change based off any further future trades, but even that outlook could be considered to grow if any veterans are dealt away for high draft picks in the coming months and years.
It takes a long time for an NHL team to build up and see the long pipeline take 18-year old draft picks into what hopefully becomes young NHL-caliber talent over a 3-4-5+ year development period. The Pens are firmly investing in their development and the younger side of the organization to help pickup the mantle whenever the end of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era wraps up. In the big picture, the team could use a few more elite talents that project as high-end players, but this summer’s feature put a spotlight that the team is stocking up in a big way in quantity of some pretty decent talent that they will hope to develop in the period that lies ahead.
Katie Boulter: ‘I’ve experienced it. I’m not a huge fan’
Britain’s US Open hopefuls thought they had put the grass behind them when Wimbledon finished, but the smell of it is all around Flushing Meadows and they are not happy about it.
Marijuana is legal for adults in New York and while smoking is not allowed on site, the aroma of weed wafts over some outside courts from the nearby Corona Park.
Rangers manager Derek McInnes has lost five of his past six away league games against former side Aberdeen, including the latest three in a row since a 1-0 win with Kilmarnock in December 2023.
Rangers could fail to win their opening three games of a league season for the second successive campaign (drawing three in 2025-26). Before this, they had not failed to win any of their opening three matches in 35 seasons from 1990-91 to 2024-25.
Aberdeen have won four of their past five home league games (losing the other), including their first this season, 2-1 over Hearts. It is as many wins as their previous 16 at Pittodrie in the Scottish Premiership (W4 D5 L7).
Rangers have won the past four league games against Aberdeen, but have not won five in a row over the Dons since October 2011 (when they won six).
Aberdeen have only lost one of their past five home league games against Rangers (winning two of them), although that was their most recent, a 2-0 defeat in January last season.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: First baseman Paul Goldschmidt #48 of the New York Yankees gets third baseman Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox out in the eight inning at Yankee Stadium on August 28, 2026 in New York City. The New York Yankees won 1-0. (Photo by Benjamin B. Braun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Not everything has to be a nailbiter! But that’s what last night became, as the Yankees’ pitching staff had to settle for merely a Paul Goldschmidt solo shot of support and go from there. Cam Schlittler, Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and David Bednar made it hold up, enabled by a huge outfield assist from Cody Bellinger to nail Ceddanne Rafaela at the plate.
For everyone in the Bronx’s own sanity, it was vital to win the opener of this four-game set. It could easily get nutty and turn into an absolute disaster from here of course, but if the Yankees were starting off on the back foot? Boy, it would be an uncomfortable couple days. Now, to see how the Yanks handle this twin bill. Let us hope that they score more than a single run in each game.
Today on the site, Matt will ponder the playoff format given the imbalance across the American League, Peter will run through the Rivalry Roundup, and Nick will write up our second consecutive 76th birthday, this time saluting a forgotten late-’70s teammate of the just-discussed Ron Guidry, George Zeber. Later, Matt will return to assemble a team of all-August birthdays. Then it’s doubleheader time!
Today’s Matchup(s):
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
Time: 1:05 p.m. EST (Game 1); 7:15 p.m. EST (Game 2)
TV: YES/NESN/MLB Network (Game 1); Fox (Game 2)
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Questions/Prompts:
1. What’s your prediction for this doubleheader? Yankees sweep? Red Sox sweep? Split? Midday armageddon?
2. Who has the better start today, Carlos Rodón or Max Fried?
Norris: ‘I want my whole career to be with McLaren’
F1 title holder says other teams have approached him
Lando Norris has said he would like to see out his career with McLaren, as the defending Formula One world champion announced he has agreed a multi-year deal until at least 2030 with the team he described as like “a second family”.
The 26-year-old, who won his first F1 title last season, joined McLaren to make his debut in the sport in 2019. He has been with them ever since and his current contract was due to run until the end of this year. Norris emphasised that he had not countenanced leaving McLaren and had made no approaches toward other teams – although some had made advances towards him.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 13: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees takes the field before the game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on August 13, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB Trade Rumors | Connor Byrne: When the Yankees placed pitcher Max Fried on the IL, the starter hoped he would only end up missing the minimum amount of time. Well, Saturday will mark 15 days, and the team will indeed activate Fried today! They confirmed the news yesterday, and in the postgame, they clarified that he will start the nightcap of the doubleheader, with fellow southpaw Carlos Rodón getting the nod in the opener against Jake Bennet.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Although there no longer are any marquee trades to be made, the Yankees have been looking into the relief pitcher market in the wake of Fernando Cruz’s injury. While Cruz himself is hopeful that he will not need Tommy John surgery, the team have looked at pitchers John King and Zack Littell, both recently released, in the wake of Cruz’s IL trip. Littell is a former Yankees prospect (acquired for James Pazos in December 2016 before going to Minnesota in the Jaime García deal that followed at the 2017 Trade Deadline), while King was almost traded by the Rangers to New York as part of the 2021 Joey Gallo trade.
Newsday | Erik Boland: Rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. has made some unfortunate history with his streak of making an error in six consecutive games, the first Yankee shortstop to do that since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915. However, the Yankees aren’t worried about it and are confident these are just growing pains that sometimes come with playing a youngster. And hey, Peckinpaugh did eventually become an MVP!
Tampa Bay Times | Nicolas Villamil: This is not explicitly Yankees-related, although this bit of news while have an effect on the Bombers. Earlier this week, Tampa city officials and Hillsborough County approved a deal for the Rays to build a new stadium in the city. While it obviously won’t be done in time for next season, dreaded trips to “The Trop” should soon become a relic of the past — perhaps as soon as 2028 since the Rays want to break ground with the goal of opening in 2029.
Filip Hrgovic singing to the press is a stark contrast to the brooding Briton who is grappling with the blinding lights of fame and glory
Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic have presented an intriguing study in contrast this week. The 21-year-old prodigy from Chatham in Kent, of Slovakian and Nigerian descent, has been a thoughtful and slightly brooding presence while the seasoned 34-year-old from Croatia has been full of sunshine and songs.
On Tuesday, Hrgovic burst into a room where a few boxing writers sat and, looking tanned without a shirt beneath his leather gilet, belted out a word-perfect version of Saturday Night at the Movies, a 1965 ditty by the Drifters.
A.J. Ewing’s results have lagged, but Mets officials do not seem alarmed by his drop-off in production this month.
The rookie outfielder entered Friday with a .165/.240/.209 slash line for August that had dropped his OPS for the season to .667 before going 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Astros at Citi Field.
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And yet, interim manager Andy Green has accentuated the positives.
Green said he approached Ewing during Thursday’s game to compliment him on his at-bats, despite the fact his hits weren’t accumulating.
Green cited the bad luck into which Ewing was hitting.
“If you are watching the at-bat quality, he’s kind of returning to what he has done for us the first part of the season,” Green said before the Mets’ loss. “We have got to acknowledge those things when they’re happening, rather than just because the box score doesn’t acknowledge that sometimes, because this is a cruel game at times. It was right for us to acknowledge he’s had a number of really good at-bats here recently.”
Entering play Ewing’s last multihit game was Aug. 7.
A.J. Ewing walks back to the dugout after striking out in the third inning of the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Astros on Aug. 28, 2026 at Citi Field. Jason Szenes for New York Post
Jorge Polanco underwent ankle surgery Wednesday, according to Green, and is expected to begin spring training in normal baseball progression.
Polanco appeared in just 37 games this season as he battled bursitis in his left ankle.
Green compared Yordan Alvarez (who is the American League MVP front-runner) to Barry Bonds for his ability to scare an opponent.
“[Alvarez] is right up there with Juan [Soto] as the best hitter in baseball and he has been the best hitter in baseball this year,” Green said. “He’s not far off where Barry Bonds was when I was sitting on the bench and watching him play a lot. There are very few people that get into that category, and he has been that this year.”
Alvarez began the day with an MLB-leading 1.043 OPS. He led the AL in homers (36) and batting average (.319) and was tied with Pete Alonso for the lead in RBIs with 91.
He went 0-for-2 with two walks in the Astros’ win on Friday.
The Mets selected Chris Devenski to the major league roster and optioned Xzavion Curry to Triple-A Syracuse.
DENVER, COLORADO - MARCH 27: Cody Williams #5 of the Utah Jazz warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on March 27, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. 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. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On another inauspicious evening in the NBA offseason, Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations, Tim Connelly, was wide awake. As first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Minnesota traded Josh Green and cash to the Utah Jazz for Cody Williams and John Konchar.
Charania followed up by sharing that Konchar, a 30-year-old wing rebounding specialist, will see his $6.2 million contract waived-and-stretched, incurring roughly $2 million in dead cap space for the next three years. Konchar could’ve been an interesting end-of-bench option, but alas the Wolves are filled to the brim at his position.
Josh Green, who was just on a team-wide outing in France, was the unfortunate salary dump that needed to happen in order to make the Jonathan Kuminga deal legal per salary cap regulations. Despite being a potential Donte DiVincenzo replacement on the roster, Green’s $14.7 million was the only realistic salary that could be moved to make enough room for Kuminga to join via the tax-payer mid-level exception. Many had theorized if there were no takers for Green, Minnesota could have entertained a waive-and-stretch of his contract, incurring a near $5 million cap hit for three years.
Instead they nearly halved that while taking a flyer on a 21-year-old top 10 draft pick, Cody Williams.
Cody is the little brother of the Oklahoma City Thunder All-NBA wing, Jalen Williams. The younger Williams has spent his last two seasons on a tanking Utah organization who have mostly failed to develop any young talent despite multiple lottery picks.
Cody is included in that bunch.
He was billed as a long (seven-foot wingspan), athletic, triple-threat scorer out of college who knocked down over 40% of his triples in his one year at Colorado. Williams, like his brother, was a late riser during the 2024 draft process, impressing scouts with his defensive tenacity and two-way star potential. Instead of following in Jalen’s footsteps on his journey to stardom, he has fallen flat on his face, becoming one of the worst players in the NBA. Respectfully.
But all is not lost yet! Tim Connelly and his front office have always been believers in finding value in what others perceive as broken toys. Aaron Gordon, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Bones Hyland, LaMelo Ball, Jonathan Kuminga. These are all players that had less than stellar “reputations” among various NBA circles, yet he’s taken a leap of faith to salvage their careers. And they’ve mostly worked out.
Williams is much less of a risk than those aforementioned names, considering he’s likely not even going to figure to be in the rotation. Hell, he’s not even guaranteed to make the opening night roster. He’s on his final two years of his rookie scale contract (~$6.5 million per year). However, Cody did finally show some promise near the end of his sophomore season.
I also still have some interest in Cody Williams as a flyer. Was always a skinny project coming into the league. Thought he was pretty solid down the stretch in Utah.
Still only 21 years old. Averaged 16/4/4 in his last 20 games this year while Utah was losing. Shot 47/21/77.
According to our SB Nation sister blog, SLC Dunk, they named Cody their second most improved player of the season. They also included this nugget from Zach Lowe:
I think Cody Williams — who looked like an epic bust of a top-10 pick… has shown enough in the last couple of months that I think there’s a world in which he’s a functional eighth to tenth guy on a good Utah Jazz team. His defense is really improved. He’s a solid defender. He knows how to close out on guys short, he knows how to run guys off the arc, he’s extremely well balanced.
The Wolves now have 14 players under contract, and all three two-way spots filled. That leaves one potential spot to be filled, though many teams often leave a spot open for flexibility. If we know anything about Connelly though, things can change on a dime, but this could be what Minnesota’s roster will look like come opening night.
